Review of Pride

Some films when they are in pre-release have so much hype and advertising running behind them that by the time the film is actually released we have seen three or four different trailers that have usually given away all the bets bits of the film leaving a sour and disappointing taste in our mouths and a feeling as though we have just wasted our time once we get around to actually seeing them. Then there are some films that deserve the hype and publicity that only ever get minimal, usually these films belong to a film festival and it's only through word of mouth that they make it to their intended audience. Pride is a film that was first released at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival winning a standing ovation and the Queer Palm award from there it went onto a limited release schedule mostly being involved in Queer Film Festivals around the world. Pride is a true life story based around the British Miner's Strike in 1984, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister and not very popular, not with miners and especially not with the gay and lesbian community either. Joe, a young naïve closeted gay boy arrives in London to take part in his first gay pride march, soon after arriving Joe is taken in by a local gay and lesbian rights activist group who do their part to raise funds to fight their foe Thatcher and her evil ways. Soon after the group realise that both the Miner's and the gay community have a lot in common they make the decision to start raising funds for the families of the miners in a little Welsh town called Onllwyn. The miners reject the gay and lesbian activists money believing it will do more harm than good for their cause so the group unfazed but a little perplexed decide to take the money personally to the town to hand it over and explain their situation and hopefully form a new alliance against the countries Prime Minister and her party… Pride is set in a very bleak and dark time of British history but I feel that it's never actually shown that way, sure things are dark and gray but I wish the director just added more hardship to his final edit for the film, not being a part of it personally but remembering how harsh it was from school study and other films I have seen over time. I don't think the film was shown as brutally honest as it should have been, from what I know of those days; they were horrid, times were rough and extremely hard, I just wish that it was portrayed a little more than what we were given. That is my only concern with the film, which says a lot I feel. None-the-less it is a fantastic well made, well directed and full of amazing actors that really bring the story to life, the story is really well scripted and the actors chosen in their respective roles have done an amazing job. Staring Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead) as Cliff, Imelda Staunton (Maleficent, Vera Drake) as Hefina Headon, Dominic West (John Carter, The Awakening) as Jonathan Blake, Paddy Considine (Hot Fuzz, The World's End) as Dai Donovan, George MacKay (How I live Now, Peter Pan) as Joe "Bromley" Cooper who is one of the few fictional characters created for the film and a whole heap of others, it is actually a very great cast everyone did their part to make the film work. As I said earlier the cinematography of the film was good I just wish it was darker like the times it is set in. The director and his crew have done a great job with this film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus (Simpatico). Pride is a feel good film with a fantastic story that can be shared with all your loved ones, there are a couple of scenes that may be a deemed a little over the top but perhaps you can use that to answer some curious minds if questions are asked. Pride is an amazing story that brings two very different worlds together for one great cause.