Review of Pride (2014) by Foxgrove — 26 Sep 2014

Pride is a film to be proud of. What could have turned out to be a schmaltzy, politicized comedy drama full of stock characters and clichéd situations is, for the most part, anything but. Sure, there are political statements being made about a period of British history that affected the lives of many miners, and yes, it also highlights the continuing struggle of the gay and lesbian community circa 1984. However, the film is extremely well written with a strong story and is directed with restraint by Matthew Warchus. He never over extends scenes that threaten to get one groaning in anticipation of the obvious. In fact the tone of the film is just right. The comedy is sometimes laugh out loud funny and the drama is very affecting. One can't help but be moved by many scenes. The cast helps immeasurably, especially the older star names who effortlessly delineate identifiably believable characters. Since Vera Drake, Imelda Staunton has been an actress in demand on smaller quality projects because she is just so good. Her performance here is just confirmation of her stature. Bill Nighy, Paddy Considine and Andrew Scott also stand out. Strangely, Dominic West seems miscast as an older, rather flamboyant gay man, but there is no denying the energy and enthusiasm with which he successfully carries off a big dance number. In this one sequence he almost owns the film.

Ultimately, all these pluses add up to a feel good comedy drama that doesn't make the serious issues it is tackling portentous or heavy. The end titles provide interesting information about the characters and the period in question, some of which was certainly news to me, as was the story told within the film itself.