Given the improbability of the true story that is the basis for director Mathew Warchus' Pride, it makes perfect sense why everyone involved realized this would make a great movie.
In England, in 1984 two disparate groupsa small faction of the gay community and a tiny segment of the enormous and mostly conservative striking miner movementfound solidarity under the oppressive thumb of Margaret Thatcher's draconian policies. Not only found solidarity but embraced it with bear hug sized support that ran both ways.
Warchus, a renowned theater director working with a script by actor/playwright Stephen Beresford, takes the high road in detailing how the cultural barriers between these two groups were dissolved. "Your gays have arrived," a grandmotherly type chirps out when the London-based queersa ragtag bunch led by the fearless young activist Mark Ashton ( played by U.S. newcomer Ben Schnetzer, who sports a convincing cockney accent )show up at the union hall in the wee Welsh village that is home to the striking miners to deliver the money they've collected on their behalf.
After Billy Elliot, The Full Monty and a slew of other dramedies of this ilk, we are in very familiar territory with a series of by-the-numbers scenes designed to melt your heart, tickle your funny bone or put a lump in your throat ( all as cliched as those shopworn phrases ). This approach, which eschews complexity and smooths out most of the rough edges, is one that mainstream audiences will no doubt embracejust as they did with those other movies and with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar ( which has particular thematic similarities to Pride ).
We can easily guess the outcome of this full-on culture clash after being introduced to the period via spot-on costuming, a bevy of well-chosen '80s songs ( Bronski Beat! ) on the soundtrack and a handful of vintage clips that sketch an overview of the strike. The characters are also immediately recognizable, each with an easily discerned problem to be addressed by the fade out. From the gay contingent, following the sassy leader Mark ( who secretly worries about AIDS ), we have Mike ( Joseph Gilgun ), his nerdy but cute second-in-command, the flamboyant Jonathan; the outlandish elder statesman of the group ( Dominic West in the role Terence Stamp fulfilled in Priscilla ); the meek and closeted Joe, who hails from the suburbs ( George MacKay ); the feisty lesbian Steph ( Faye Marsay ); and Gethin ( Andrew Scott ), Jonathan's boyfriend who has bitter memories of being forced to leave a similar Welsh village for being gay.
The straights are represented by Paddy Consodine as Dai, the gentle union rep who pleads for tolerance from the get-go; Imelda Staunton as Hefina, the outspoken head of the strike committee who takes no prisoners in her acceptance of her new gay friends; Bill Nighy as Cliff, the bookish intellectual who has always been a fish out of water in the small village; Jessica Gunning as Sian, a quietly determined housewife dying to break out of her traditional role; a couple of bi-curious folks; and, of course, a villain to whip up the homophobia ( Lisa Palfrey as a miner's widow, stepping into the Chris Penn role in To Wong Foo ).
Scenes of Jonathan shaking a tail feather on the dance floor of the union hall with Hefina and teaching the rhythmically challenged young miners to dance so they can have a chance with the local beauty queen; Sian having her consciousness raised by her new gay friends; and the ladies discovering a cache of gay porn on a subsequent trip to London and having a blast in a leather bar are all par for the course. So, too, are the right-on-cue revelations about several of the characters and the heart-tugging climax of the film. That's not to say that just because all of this is so familiar it isn't pleasingit is. And maybe it's more so because, unlike The Full Monty and Billy Elliot, the gay characters and themes aren't shunted to the side into subplot status; here, they're front and center.
It should also be pointed out, however, that while this broad approach to the story that combines characters and sands down the sharp edges might be more appealing to a wider audience, it also ( mostly ) leaves subtlety and emotional complexity in its wake. I didn't mind the spun-sugar attitude the movie tookit felt great to bask in the laughter, tears and anger that the material elicits ( and it's no surprise to learn that the producers have announced a forthcoming musical stage version ). I took pride in Pride, but realized as I was doing so that it was through a pair of rose-colored glasses that filtered out a lot of the not-so-nice stuff.
Note: Once again, in giving Pride an "R" rating, we have a ratings board that is completely out of step with the culture surrounding it. After giving both Pride and the recent Love Is Strange that rating ( not to mention dozens of other LGBT-themed movies ), tagging the MPAA as a bunch of homophobes certainly seems justified. This has to stop. Drop the board a line and demand changes, starting with full disclosure about members of its ratings board: ContactUs@mpaa.org
Film notes:
Bjorksinger-songwriter, avant-garde artist, environmentalist, and longtime friend of the gay communityhas been touring worldwide with her stage extravaganza Biophilia, based on her 2011 album of the same name. The over-the-top concerta visual spectacle that, as usual, finds Bjork breaking new musical and artistic groundwas filmed during its final performance by directors Peter Strickland and Nick Fenton ( who edited ). The movie, titled Bjork: Biophilia Live has its Chicago premiere beginning on Friday, Oct. 12 at the Gene Siskel Film Center ( 164 N. State St. ). http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/bjork
Music Box of Horrors 2014: Get out your pajamas because it's time for the Music Box Theatre's ( 3717 N. Southport Ave. ) annual 24-hour horror-movie marathon. It gets underway Saturday, Oct. 11. ( The starting time was still TBD at press time. ).
As usual, the marathon will include everything from silent classics to cult slasher faves. Highlights include a rare theatrical screening of the Boris Karloff programmer, 1939's The Man They Could Not Hang; Oliver Reed in 1961's The Curse of the Werewolf from Hammer Studios; Roddy McDowall and Christopher Atkins starring in 1990's Shakma, a low-budget cult indie about a killer baboon ( really ) stalking a group of college geeks; and Rae Dawn Chong in the 1991 psycho alien gore fest The Borrowers ( with director John McNaughton in attendance ). Check the Music Box website for complete lineup and to purchase advance tickets. http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/festivals/music-box-of-horrors-2014
On Monday, Oct. 13, the Music Box is also the place where the Unabridged Bookstore is presenting "An Evening with Alan Cumming." The multitalented Cumming, a paragon of our community, will discuss his new memoir Not My Father's Son with former Chicago magazine editor Dick Babcock on the Music Box stage beginning at 7 p.m. A book-signing will follow the conversation. http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/events/unabridged-bookstore-presents-an-evening-with-alan-cumming-2014-oct-13-mon-0700pm
Now available: The Best of Knight at the Movies: 2004-2014a compilation book of more than 150 of my film reviews from a queer perspective for Windy City Timesis now available. www.knightatthemovies.com .