PRIDE (15)

Posted by ruthmedia on September 4, 2014 in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

PRIDE (15)

Run time: 120mins

Director: Matthew Warchus

Cast: Imelda Staunton, Andrew Scott, Bill Nighy, Dominic West, Ben Schnetzer, Freddie Fox, George MacKay, Paddy Considine, and Jessica Gunning.

Synopsis: The true story of how a group of lesbian and gay activists joined forces with a small Welsh mining community in 1984, supporting them during their darkest hour.

URL: www.pridemovie.co.uk

An incredible real life story of an unlikely alliance set in the summer of 1984 with Margaret Thatcher in power and National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) on strike.

At the Gay Pride March in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists decide to support the families of the striking miners.  There’s only one problem – the Union seems embarrassed to receive their support.

Undeterred the activists go direct to the miners and identify a small Welsh mining village and head off in a mini bus to make their donation in person.  So begins a human, compassionate and beautiful story of two seemingly alien communities who form an ultimately triumphant partnership.

With a superb ensemble cast and a great script which is turns very funny, sad and joyful, Pride received a 15 minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Director Matthew Warchus (Simpatico, 1999) has given us one of this year’s unmissable treats, a political film in the best sense about people banding together to take control of their destinies – a recurrent theme in UK cinema from Passport to Pimlico (1949) to the fact based Made in Dagenham (2010)

Set in a very bleak period of UK history, the stellar cast – with a particularly stand-out performance from Bill Nighy – make Pride a film that deals with important issues and dark times, while still emerging as a compassionate, life enhancing experience.

Images courtesy of Pathé