'Pride' (2014), the movie

Hi! I'm Andrea and in this post, I'm going to talk about the adaptation of the LGSM story, the story of how a group of LGBT activists helps and supports a mining village during the Miners' Strike in 1984-85 has been made a film version for a film called Pride. The film, directed by Matthew Warchus is starred by actors and actresses of renowned Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, and Andrew Scott among others. The film, through a perspective that combines comedy and drama, follows the story of this collaboration with its ups and downs. 

 

As a historical film, the characters that appeared should be logically based on the real people behind the movement – Mark Ashton, Mike Jackson, Gethin Roberts, Reggie Blennerhassett, etc. – as well as the villagers – Dai Donovan, Siân James, etc. – involved in the story. The presence of the real members of the LGSM provides the film with more realism and the ability to connect with these activists, their concerns, and what they are fighting for.  

Nevertheless, in the film, there's a character who was not originally part of LGSM. Joe "Bromley" Cooper is a closeted 20-year-old boy part of a family whose ideas towards sexuality are rather conservative. Despite this, Joe secretly attends the London Parade Pride in 1984, where he meets a group of activists who will eventually create and be part of the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners group or LGSM. But Joe Cooper, who has been presented as one of the protagonists, is a fictional character. His presence allows the audience to reflect themselves into him as well as being part of the film and, in turn, the story. It also makes the audience empathizes deeper with this young boy who could be anyone, any of us. Joe's character works as an audience surrogate.

The soundtrack is also a key point within the film. As a historical film, the soundtrack has to be accurate regarding the period set and accompanied the scenes and, in this case, reinforce the social message of the film. Pride does it quite well, mixing funny and glee songs such as "Shame Shame Shame" or "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" with more activist ones such as "Solidarity Forever" or "There Is Power in a Union".

The film was released at the Cannes Festival in 2014 where it won the Queer Palm. Among other accolades, there're several national and European awards – the BAFTA Film Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer, and the British Independent Film Awards for Best British Independent Film, Best Supporting Actress (Imelda Staunton), Best Supporting Actor (Andrew Scott) and Best Director (Matthew Warchus). It was also nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Motion Picture in the category of Comedy or Musical. 

Definitely, Pride is a moving film that is worth watching, a good way to learn history while spending a nice time.

If you want to know more about the film, just check our dynamic presentation here! 

- Andrea Echevarría 🍃