PRIDE (2014) – The Review

Here’s a flick that builds on the old saying that politics makes strange bedfellows. Toss in harassment and hardship and those bedfellows can get even stranger. Or more unlikely. This being the Fall, we’re back in the more serious “inspired by a true story” film territory. But this true tale is a bit lighter, much like other British non-fiction fables like THE FULL MONTY and CALENDAR GIRLS. There’s gentle humor, but also drama and more than a touch of heartache. Many of the laughs emerge from culture clashes, with each of the two main groups alternating as “fish out of water”. And although they may have different definitions of the word, the two are brought together over common feelings of PRIDE.

It’s 1984 in London as activist Mark Ashton (Ben Schnetzer) gets ready to join the annual Gay Pride Parade. He’s suddenly transfixed by the news footage of the police clashing with striking miners (this in response to pit closures by PM Thatcher). Grabbing up a couple of small plastic buckets, he decides to collect money for the strikers while marching. Also watching the news footage, in his parents’ home, is shy college student Joe (George MacKay) who scoops up his camera and heads to the parade (but just to click a few pics, he tells himself). Downtown, Joe joins the parade, befriends unlucky-in-love Lesbian Steph (Faye Marsay), and accompanies her to an impromptu meeting called by Mark at the gay bookstore run by the quiet Gethin (Andrew Scott). Mark proposes they form the group Gays and Lesbians Support the Miners (GLSM) since they’re enduring the abuse from the ‘bobbbies’ generally reserved for Mark and his chums. Once the money is collected the GLSM find it almost impossible to donate the funds (the official unions will not return calls or they just hang up). It’s then decided to give the money directly to an affected town picked randomly from a map, the Welsh village of Onllwyn. And their calls go through! Soon the town’s soft-spoken mayor Dai (Paddy Consdidine) pays them a visit to thanks them, encourages the group, and invites them to the village. When the GLSM takes a road trip to Onllwyn, the townsfolk are stunned by their appearance. Some locals warmly embrace them like housewife/volunteer worker Sian (Jessica Gunning), supporter matriarch Helfina (Imelda Staunton), and town historian/poet Cliff (Bill Nighy), while others shun charity from the group. But Mark and the group are undeterred, and over the next few months a surprising friendship slowly blossoms.

This film is almost a “who’s who” of the some of the best character actors working in Europe. Schnetzer projects charisma and confidence as the outspoken Mark. On the other end is MacKay as the timid Joe who fears the scorn of his parents while yearning to spread his wings. We’re rooting for him to find his voice and stand tall. Marsay covers Steph with a tough outer shell of snark, but we see her change as she slowly opens up to young Joe and the villagers. I only knew Scott as the insidious criminal mastermind ‘Jim’ Moriarty in the BBC “Sherlock” series, so I was taken aback by his sad-eyed Gethin who seems almost numb from his past tragedies. Slowly he embraces his Welsh roots again while summoning the courage to re-connect with the mother who would not accept him. Gethin’s life partner proves that opposites do attract. Dominic West as the out and very loud Jonathan is the film’s vibrant life force especially as he throws himself on the dance floor, without any inhibitions, to bond with the townsfolk at their community auditorium. This helps inspire Gunning’s Sian who shows a giddy exhilaration over breaking away from the household and asserting her own views. Considine gives the Mayor a Jimmy Stewart-like humble tone as a small town man who has an open heart for all. Staunton is the nurturing Earth mother who delights in taking the city folk, especially Gethin, under her warm wings while Nighy scores big laughs while spewing endless town trivia as he too is touched by the outsiders.

Director Matthew Warchus gives the film a leisurely, nearly lyrical pace as he shows the seasons changing along with attitudes on both sides. Stephen Beresford’s script doesn’t “candy coat” the 1980’s time period. All the ignorance and fear (mostly due to that deadly new disease) are shown in all their ugliness. The cinematography by Tat Radcliffe gives us the gritty London streets, often lit by pulsating neon, along with the lush rolling hills of the Welsh countryside. This is an illuminating and hope-filled true tale that shows us that people can get past their differences and work together to change society. The cast and crew have made a film for which they can all share a deep sense of PRIDE.

4 Out of 5

PRIDE opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre