Pride is my favourite film, and today I'm going to be telling you why: completely spoiler-free, so those of you who haven't watched it can find out why you should. This film (directed by Matthew Warchus and written by Stephen Beresford) tells the story of LGSM (Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners), a group of lesbians and gay men living in London during the 1984-5 miners' strike. Led by activist Mark Ashton, they decide to help the miners as they see themselves in the treatment of the miners by the press and police. They start by collecting money at a pride event, and when the union won't take their money, they befriend the residents of a particular small village in Wales. Our audience surrogate is Joe, an in-the-closet twenty year old who stumbles into LGSM after accidentally walking with them at Pride. It's based on an inspirational true story (although Joe was invented for the film), and tackles themes of identity, empathy, acceptance, standing up for yourself, and the importance of community. Remarkably, it does this almost stealthily, never preaching, instead seamlessly and subtly working these themes in while playing with your emotions so you hardly notice. The tone of this film is masterfully calculated. It's the most feel-good of all feel-good films, but it's also real, and never trivialises its subject material. It creates a complex mixture of emotions, happy and sad, powerfully guiding the audience's emotions. The subtlety I mentioned before regarding themes is one of this film's greatest strengths in terms of storytelling. Warchus and Beresford aren't afraid to only show glimpses of plot details or scenes- in one scene, Mark runs into a man named Tim who is presumably his ex-boyfriend- but we don't know. It's a very short scene, one which we're not supposed to totally understand, but one which is still emotionally affecting and touching perhaps because of its mystery. Only two days ago, on what was perhaps my fifth or sixth time watching the film, did a theory hit me that completely works with the scene and others after it, filling in so many background details that we don't or don't need to know, and it broke my heart. Every single time I watch this film I discover something new; it's good at getting your imagination to wander. One of the reasons for this not-giving-us-every-detail is the sheer amount of characters this film deals with. I previously mentioned this film in my post 'Writing Tips from Around the Web: Ensemble Casts'. It is such a good example of an ensemble film, because between LGSM, Joe's family, and the inhabitants of the mining village in Dulais, many characters are given depth and individuality. Almost every single character is not only likeable but lovable. Part of this is due to the amazing writing, and part to the skill of the cast members. The cast is incredible, and includes the likes of Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Andrew Scott among the many. I could point to a line for every single character that I love for either the line itself or the way in which they say it. The soundtrack for this film is glorious. Whenever I hear the song that plays over the ending sequence- I won't tell you details- my heart swells with the cocktail of emotions that the film always creates in me. The music is deliciously 80s- 'Karma Chameleon' by Culture Club and 'What Difference Does It Make' by the Smiths are two of the songs- and backs up a wonderful dance scene. One drawback I do always notice in the film is its lack of acknowledgement of bisexuality- Mark at one point says 'To the gays... To the straights... And to the as yet undecided...'- but due to the 80s setting I can excuse this. It would have been nice to have seen some representation though, since much of the premise is based on a gay-straight opposition. Please, please go and watch this film. It is incredibly well directed, well written, and well acted, and is such a joy to watch.
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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."- Philip Pullman Archives
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