Pride (November 2014)

Official Australian release date: 30/10/14. Viewed: 5/11/14.

Director: Matthew Warchus

Actors: Ben Schnetzer, George McKay, Paddy Considine, Imelda Staunton, Bill Nighy

Genre: Drama / Comedy

Rating: M

‘Pride’ is a simple British film that manages to be about lots of things all at once, all while being charming and quaint, as only the Poms can do! It’s set in London (and Wales) in 1984 and follows a small group of gay & lesbian activists who decide to do stand up to the Thatcher government – not for gay rights, but for the rights of the striking miners! It’s all handled quite well and doesn’t become a full on drama, or a full on comedy – or even a full on “political” or “gay” movie.

Sure, there’s definitely lots of political messages being explored – and you would like to think the world, in general, is a more tolerant place 30 years later – but the film’s really about this group of six friends banding together and supporting another put-upon group, a small mining community in Wales. This is where a lot of the humour comes from – the old Welsh ladies having fun with “their gays” and “their lesbians”!

The cast is superb – even though Nighy is probably under-utilised – with Mark (Schnetzer) & Joe (McKay) particularly captivating. The soundtrack/score is also great, although there’s obviously some disco! Well-paced and with a great ending, this is a very enjoyable film.

Overall: Fun, moving true story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.