Bill Nighy
Imelda Staunton
Dominic West
Paddy Considine
Andrew Scott
George MacKay
Joseph Gilgun
Ben Schnetzer

Stephen Beresford

119 mins.
Comedy, Drama
September 26, 2014

Rated R for language and brief sexual content. (MPAA)

“Pride” is a straightforward film based on true events. It chronicles, from 1984 to 1985, the union of a group of gays and lesbians (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners) with striking Welsh miners. It’s a predictable sort of film, whether you know the history or not. The characters are the types of people you’d expect to see: a young gay man who hasn’t come out to his parents, a reluctant leader, a gay man who’s disinterested at first but changes his tune, women from the mining community who quickly support the gays, a woman who certainly doesn’t, a man in the mining community who’s actually gay, a straight man from the mining community who doesn’t have a judgmental bone in his body, and so on.

Of course, there are obstacles: The mining community isn’t fully supportive (this changes later on), one of the gays gets beaten up, the young gay man has to face his parents, etc. So, again, there’s nothing new. However, this is a deceptively well-made film. It has shifts in tone that are barely perceptible: You realize that they’ve just shifted into a dramatic moment (for example, when Dominic West’s character discusses being one of the first men diagnosed with AIDS in England) or a comedic moment (for example, when the women from the mining community barge into a gay leather bar) without seeing it coming. There are heartwarming moments, especially at the end, too.

In addition, there are some great shots on display, unexpectedly so for this kind of film. The British landscape has never looked better in all of its dreary glory. Plus, this film doesn’t beat you over the head. It’s not heavy-handed at all; it’s actually rather gentle in its approach. The pace never lags, and the acting’s thoroughly spot on. They just get on with it; it’s very British in that way.

While certain viewers may complain that some things happen too easily, that’s part of this film’s charm. At times, it reminded me of “Erin Brockovich” – one of the women from the mining community barges into a police station and demands that they release the miners who had been arrested without cause; “Lean on Me” – the villain of the film is a much tamer version of Mrs. Barrett; and “Les Misérables” – the miners break out into a beautifully rousing song that works without descending into hokeyness. But it’s not a derivative of those films, not in the least.

“Pride” is just what an uplifting film should be: nothing more and nothing less.

Verdict: Very Good

About: (Source: pride)

PRIDE is inspired by an extraordinary true story.  It’s the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers’ families.  Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person.  As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all.