The Rectangular View

Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict

The Story:

Pride is a historical drama about gay and lesbian activists raising money to help families effected by the British miners’ strike of 1984. The film stays close to the facts and leaves its audience smiling.

The movie opens with Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) realizing the similarities in how police treat both the striking miners and the LGBT community. To show solidarity with the striking miners, Mark forms the group Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM). The group quickly raises money for the miners, but quickly discovers that it’s not easy finding a mining community that will form an alliance with them. It is 1984 and there is a huge stigma associated with being gay or lesbian. They get lucky when they call the village of Onllwyn, and an old woman picks up and accepts their donation. She doesn’t realize the implications of working with lesbians and gays, but the local miners committee decides to accept the donation, and so the story begins.

I won’t go into any more of the story, but that’s enough to give you an idea of what it’s about. You can get more information about this incredible historical event here: Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners.

Some Thoughts:

Director Matthew Warchus skillfully keeps the story rolling and depicts the look and feel of 1984 accurately. He also stays as close to the actual events as possible, which is very rare for historical films.

Images of the lush countryside of Onllwyn depicts the difference between the lives of the miners and urban life of the LGSM group. It’s the tight and claustrophobic interior shots of the LGSM group and the miners that show the similarities. It’s also in the interior scenes where the story shines. This is when the characters are forced to interact and open up to one another.

The acting throughout is superb. There isn’t a single actor who isn’t believable. Pride focuses on all aspect of gay and lesbian lives, and it’s a joy to see a group of people being exposed to a culture unlike their own and drinking it in. And although the film depicts some heavy and dark topics, the majority of it celebrates the joy of friendship and solidarity that came from this historical event.

While Pride depicts the difficulties both groups face when LGSM first arrives in the village, it feels as if the miners accept the group of outsiders a bit too easily. There are some holdouts headed by Maureen Barry (Lisa Palfrey), but the film only shows Maureen and her two sons. Although the majority of the village did support LGSM, I wish the film showed more of Maureen’s supporters.

Palfrey plays Maureen to the hilt and makes a great villain. The entire cast is superb, but a film like Pride needs a villain, and Maureen fits the bill. After all, a good villain makes a happy ending even more satisfying.

The Final Verdict:

If you’re looking for a movie that’s entertaining and will leave you feeling good, Pride is a must-watch. Pride will leave you feeling positive and uplifted.

It’s also a reminder that the hateful anti-LGBT rhetoric being spewed today is not from the majority, but from a scared minority.