[Last Film I Watch] Pride (2014) [7/10]

Title: Pride
Year: 2014
Country: UK, France
Language: English, Welsh
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Matthew Warchus
Writer: Stephen Beresford
Music: Christopher Nightingale
Cinematography: Tat Radcliffe
Cast:
Ben Schnitzer
George MacKay
Bill Nighy
Imelda Staunton
Andrew Scott
Dominic West
Jessica Gunning
Paddy Considine
Faye Marsay
Menna Trussler
Joseph Gilgun
Karina Fernandez
Monica Dolan
Kyle Rees
Freddie Fox
Jessie Cave
Lisa Palfrey
Rhodri Meilir
Chris Overton
Joshua Hill
Liz White
Jack Baggs
Olwen Medi
Russell Tovey
Rating: 7/10

PRIDE is an uplifting UK dramedy revamps the postures of various people in the actual events of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support Miners) movement in the summer of 1984, but it overtly dodges the over-used “based on a true story” troupe, and artistically gives the story some polishing in terms of some morale boost.

Joe (MacKay) is a young student, and being the surrogate for audience, he firstly engages in the 1984 London gay parade with wide-eyed novelty and closeted reluctance, and half-heartedly he becomes a founding member of new-coined LGSM group, lead by an avid 24-year-old activist Mark (Schnetzer). The film starts its narrative quite flamboyantly in the gay parade and quickly steers onto the thorny issue, to raise money for the UK miners who are under the same predicament where LGBT minority is, the mineworkers’ union starts a strike would last for more than one year.

It of course senses a whiff of a politically smart manoeuvre to benefit both parties to against their mutual enemy, Thatcher’s government. So not entirely out of out-and-out altruism, the movement clicks with the miners in the Welsh village of Onllwyn, which consequently sets off a scandalous disturbance when a minibus full of gays and lesbians set their foot on the lot, also triggers a standoff between the homophobic community and its more open-minded hosts, lead by the leader of the miners Dai (Considine), Hefina (Staunton), Cliff (Nighy) and the housewife Sian (Gunning).

Fun time ensues, the “straight men don’t dance” routine is again the silence breaker, Jonathan (West) steals the limelight and even instigates the admiration from straight fellows, who are eagerly to learn dancing to woo their lady friends. Welsh miners pay a visit to London too, their eyes are opened by the local gay scenes and a certain mutual respect is slowly being built thanks to director Matthew Warchus’ unobtrusive observation of his numerous characters, although those crude clashes are too unrealistic to bypass, but Warchus handles them with enough care, most of the ugly moments are cleverly deadened, including a familial admonishment from Joe’s parents and a hatred attack on Gethin (Scott), Jonathan’s longtime partner, only leaves a bitter taste is the obdurate homophobe Maureen (Palfrey), it is not a random deploy that she happens to be a widow and Cliff’s sister-in-law, there is a long dark history left veiled.

However, the pathos-rendering setback will arrive no matter what since reality bites, but a bright side is that the bond has been connected, its positive message has been firmly dispersed: people with different backgrounds can support each other for the right cause, accept their difference and coexist in harmony. The feel-good ending is exaggerated for sure (no HIV panic, no extensive dissection of the movement’s political agenda and the real-life coda of the strike is not such a victory as the film depicts), gleefully gives audience an on-the-nose boost of solidarity to relish after the film finishes.

PRIDE is a well-presented ensemble piece, veterans and novices are equally dispensed with their own narrative development to state a point, Schnetzer is tenaciously unbeatable and never hide his feelings or aggressions, Scott generates a more poignant facet in his mother-son reunion set piece and Staunton is forcibly explosive, those three are conjointly heading into my chart of “best performance so far” in 2014. At last, the film is another cheerful UK contribution to widen the LGBT cinema landscape, and it holds its oomph within a properly-moderated gauge.

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