Rick Morin: Movie Review - Pride

Starring: Imelda Staunton, Billy Nighy, and Andrew Scott.
Directed by: Matthew Warchus

PRIDE is based on an extraordinary true story. It's the summer of 1984, Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers is on strike, prompting a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists to raise money to support the strikers' families. Initially rebuffed by the Union, the group identifies a tiny mining village in Wales and sets off to make their donation in person. As the strike drags on, the two groups discover that standing together makes for the strongest union of all.

Apparently, Stephen Beresford did not need to rely too heavily on artistic license when he wrote the screen play for Pride; everything in the film pretty much reflects the events as they happened. That in itself speaks volumes about this wonderful story.
Pride is similar in style to other “Working-class-triumphs-against-the-odds” movies from the UK, like Billy Elliot and Brassed-Off.

The performances are magnificent and entirely relatable regardless, one would hope, of personal views on homosexuality or, for that matter, socialism.

Having said that, US censors saw fit to give Pride an R rating which means no one under 17 can legally see the film without an adult – by comparison, NZ censors handed the film an M rating. 

Excuse the cliché but Pride will make you laugh, cry and think ... and you’re very likely to leave the theatre felling all warm and fuzzy!