Film No.73 (2014) Pride. October 14th.

Film No.73 (2014) October 14th. 7:00 PM VMAX Innaloo.

Pride

Films from the UK depicting the grim times of Margaret Thatcher's reign of power during the 70's and 80's are many and varied. Most of this cinema reflected working class people struggling as they adapted to the repressive social landscape of the time. Pride takes us back to that time, and to arguably the most torturous struggle of them all; the miner's strike of 1984/5, and then lightens our load through humour.

That's not to say the film doesn't have its serious moments. It's because of the the affinity we build for most of its characters during the films quick witted, lighter scenes that we are reduced to tears on a number of occasions in the heavier scenes. 

The real story of what happened in the Dulais Valley in South Wales during the strike became big news when the strike ended. The humble donations made to the small mining community by an unlikely source (LGSM: Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners)  were at the time newsworthy but soon forgotten. Perhaps because overcoming homophobia takes time and one event isn't likely to have sudden effects. Pride however comes at a time when societies views have softened, more people are accepting and this film is going to assist the cause even further.    

I've not used a paragraph to summarize the film because there are too many strands to this very entertaining log of history. Bill Nighy, unaccustomed as he is to smaller roles, is brilliant as Cliff. Academy nominee brilliant in my opinion. But the character of most interest, the fresh faced Irish boy Mark Ashton, played brilliantly by Ben Schnetzer, is the key to the story. He's worth researching further once the titles have finished rolling.  10GUMS.