This movie improved enormously! I first saw it around 1983 and didn't "get" it--felt disoriented by the odd pacing and strange way of telling its story. Seeing it a second time, in 2021, I liked it much better and appreciated its irony and strange construction.
Some of the irony comes from the townsfolk's reaction to the petroleum company's plans for a refinery and terminal (perhaps not what you might have expected) and some of it comes from the actions of an eccentric billionaire (Burt Lancaster--good as always). In 2021, all this seemed more plausible than in 1983. Enjoyable and a little off-beat.
Review of Local Hero
