''Pride'' is a 2014 British

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

comedy-drama film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus. Based on a true story, the film depicts a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984, at the outset of what would become the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners campaign. It was screened as part of the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and kn ...

section of the

2014 Cannes Film Festival The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film ''Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri B ...

, where it won the Queer Palm award. Writer Stephen Beresford said a stage musical adaptation involving director Matthew Warchus is being planned. The film was nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award that has been awarded annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). Eligibility Eligible films must be at least 70 minutes in l ...

and for the BAFTA for

Best British Film Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre produ ...

and for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

Plot

Upon watching the news about the miners' strike, gay activist Mark Ashton realises that the police have stopped harassing the gay community because their attention is elsewhere. He spontaneously arranges a bucket collection for the miners during the Gay Pride Parade in London. Encouraged by the success, he founds " Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners". Among its first members are 20-year-old closeted student Joe Cooper and an older gay couple Gethin and

Jonathan Jonathan may refer to: *Jonathan (name), a masculine given name Media * ''Jonathan'' (1970 film), a German film directed by Hans W. Geißendörfer * ''Jonathan'' (2016 film), a German film directed by Piotr J. Lewandowski * ''Jonathan'' (2018 ...

, whose bookshop (called Gay's the Word) they use as headquarters. LGSM faces opposition from the mining community who do not wish to associate with them, as well as within the gay community who feel that the miners have mistreated them in the past. Frustrated by the lack of response, the activists instead decide to take their donations directly to a small mining village named in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Dai Donovan, spokesperson for the miners in , comes to London to meet their new allies. Though he is startled by the revelation of what "L" and "G" stand for in their name, he expresses his gratitude in a short, eloquent speech at a gay bar, and the cause takes off. In , the Women's Support group, led by

Hefina Headon Hefina Headon (8 June 1930 – 5 October 2013) was a Welsh community and human rights activist. She became a notable figure in Wales through her activism during the UK miners' strike of 1984–1985. A biography was released in August 2015. Life ...

and Maureen Barry, debate whether to invite LGSM to the village as a thank you; Hefina, and her supporters, favour gratitude from all camps, whilst Maureen's supporters consider the gays abhorrent. First-time volunteer Siân James speaks up fiercely in favour of inviting LGSM and is asked to join the committee. When LGSM arrives in , they are met with a frosty reception and Maureen leads a walkout after Mark's speech to the village. However, the next day Jonathan shares with his knowledge of harassment laws and abuse of police power; the fiery marches down to the police station to demand the release of illegally-detained miners. Many grateful miners acknowledge LGSM's role in their release, relations begin to thaw and the two communities quickly become close. Finding herself on the outside, Maureen contacts a tabloid about the situation in . The resulting story humiliates The National Union of Miners, who call a vote on whether to accept LGSM's support. Back in London, Mark declares that they will embrace the labels in the tabloid and throws an enormous concert at the Electric Ballroom headlined by

Bronski Beat Bronski Beat were a British synthpop trio which achieved success in the mid-1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit " Smalltown Boy", from their debut album '' The Age of Consent''. "Smalltown Boy" was their only US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

, attended by Dai, Hefina and a number of the women from the village. Mark is badly shaken when he encounters a former lover who implies that he is terminal with AIDS. The "Pits and Perverts" festival raises thousands of pounds for , but the Union vote moves forward three hours without notice, and without Dai or Hefina, Maureen's camp succeeds in voting to refuse further help from LGSM. Disillusioned and haunted, Mark abandons LGSM. Gethin, who initially refused to participate due to his own experience coming out in a mining village, attempts to campaign alone and is violently assaulted and hospitalised. Joe is outed when his parents find photos from and they keep him away from the group. In March 1985, the Miners' Strike is over. The miners of gather to go back into the mines. Joe sees the news and sneaks off to to show solidarity, where he encounters Mark. Mark confronts Joe about hiding his activism and homosexuality from his parents. When drives him to London in the LGSM donated van, he learns of Gethin's condition Joe decides it's time to leave home and has her drive him directly up to his home, embarrassing his conservative mother. On the day of the 1985 Gay Pride Parade, Mark returns to the group and apologises for abandoning the cause. He leads LGSM to the Parade, where they are joined by hundreds of miners in a show of solidarity. The closing scenes reveal that consequently the Labour Party incorporated rights for gays and lesbians in their party programme due in part to a massive vote lodged by the National Union of Mineworkers, that was elected to Parliament, that Jonathan still lived (as of 2014) despite being one of first in Britain to be diagnosed with HIV, and that Mark Ashton died of AIDS just two years later at the age of 26.

Cast

LGSM members * Ben Schnetzer as Mark Ashton, founder of LGSM * Joseph Gilgun as Michael (Mike) Jackson, Mark's best friend. * Faye Marsay as Stephanie (Steph) Chambers, the sole lesbian among the LGSM founders. *

Dominic West Dominic Gerard Francis Eagleton West (born 15 October 1969) is an English actor, director and musician. He is best known for playing Jimmy McNulty in HBO's ''The Wire'' (2002–2008), Noah Solloway in Showtime's '' The Affair'' (2014–2019), ...

Jonathan Blake Jonathan Blake (born October 6, 1987) is an American professional basketball player. Blake played high school basketball at Cypress Springs High School, where he was named to the First-Team in District 17-5A

, Gethin's partner and the second person diagnosed with HIV in the UK. * Andrew Scott as Gethin Roberts, Jonathan's partner and a Welshman who was alienated from his village when he came out sixteen years earlier * Freddie Fox as Jeff Cole, popular with the Onllwyn children. * Chris Overton as Reggie Blennerhassett, Ray's partner. * Joshua Hill as Ray Aller, Reggie's partner. * George MacKay as Joe "

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

" Cooper, a fictional LGSM member. Women's Support Group members *

, member of the strike committee. * Jessica Gunning as Siân James, wife of Martin. * Liz White as Margaret Donovan, member of the strike committee and wife of Dai * Nia Gwynne as Gail Pritchard, wife of Alan. * Menna Trussler as Gwen, an elderly member, and widow of William, who was a miner. *

Lisa Palfrey Lisa Palfrey (born 9 February 1967) is a Welsh actress. She is known for playing the roles of Gwenny in '' House of America'' (1997), Mrs Nice in '' Guest House Paradiso'' (1999), Maureen in ''Pride'' (2014), Mrs Dai Bread 1 in ''Under Milk W ...

as Maureen Barry, a widow and sister-in-law of Cliff who is against LGSM support. Other characters *

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with '' The Illuminatus!'' in 1977. There he g ...

as Cliff Barry, a leader of the men's union. *

Paddy Considine Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Brit ...

as David (Dai) Donovan, a leader of the men's union and member of the strike committee * Rhodri Meilir as Martin James, a leader of the men's union. * Sophie Evans as Debbie Thomas. * Karina Fernandez as Stella, an LGSM member who broke off to form an all-female group Lesbians Against Pit Closures. *

Jessie Cave Jessica Alice Cave Lloyd (born 5 May 1987) is an English actress, comedian and cartoonist, known for her role as Lavender Brown in the ''Harry Potter'' film series and for her shows in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe. She has also publishe ...

as Zoe, Stella's girlfriend. * Monica Dolan as Marion Cooper, Bromley's mother. * Matthew Flynn as Tony Cooper, Bromley's father. * Olwen Medi as Gethin's mother, who initially disowned him for being gay. * Kyle Rees as Carl Evans, a miner who asks Jonathan for dancing lessons. * Jack Baggs as Gary, Carl's friend who also asks for dance lessons. * Jams Thomas as the Miners Union Leader. *

Deddie Davies Deddie Davies (born Gillian Nancy Davies, 2 March 1938 – 21 December 2016) was a Welsh character actress. Biography Davies was born in Bridgend, Wales. She trained at RADA and is most familiar to television viewers for comedy roles in a host ...

as The Old Lady at Bingo. *

Russell Tovey Russell George Tovey (born 14 November 1981) is an English actor. He is best known for playing the role of werewolf George Sands in the BBC's supernatural comedy-drama '' Being Human'', Rudge in both the stage and film versions of '' The His ...

as Tim, apparent ex lover of Mark.

Release

Cinema release

''Pride'' premiered at the

, where it received a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. In Ancient Rome returning military commanders (such as Marcus Licinius Crassus ...

and won the Queer Palm award. The film was also screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, with the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

'' reporting that ''Pride'' was "hugely popular with preview and festival audiences". It was released to cinemas throughout the UK on 12 September 2014. In France, the film received its release on 17 September. The film was distributed by

Pathé Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

in the UK and France, with the title being distributed through Pathé's British distribution partner

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

CBS Films CBS Films Inc. was an American film production and distribution company founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of CBS Corporation and was considered a mini-major studio up until 2019. CBS Films originally was planned to distribute, develop and prod ...

acquired the distribution rights for the film in the United States. The film received a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

in the US on 26 September 2014, being screened in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Controversies

In the UK, the film received a 15 certificate by the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

for "occasional strong language" and two scenes of a sexual nature, one scene in a gay club where men are depicted "wearing 'bondage' clothing", and a comedic scene where some of the characters discover a pornographic magazine in a bedroom. The

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

gave the film an R rating, the nearest US equivalent to the UK's 15 certificate. (This reflects common practice; the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

states that "most" 15 certificate films are R-rated in the US.) ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' published an article calling the MPAA's rating "draconian", alleging that the R rating's higher age restriction ("no unaccompanied under-17s") was specifically applied due to gay content. ''The Independent''s article formed the basis for a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' article which further compounded the issue by mistakenly stating that the MPAA had given the film an NC-17 rating. This error was corrected a few days later. In January 2015, it was reported that the cover of the US DVD release of the film makes no mention of the gay content. A standard description of "a London-based group of gay and lesbian activists" was reduced to "a group of London-based activists", and a lesbian and gay banner was removed from a photograph on the back cover. The absence of any mention of Mark Ashton's communist beliefs in the film, despite his position as the leader of the youth branch of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), has become a point of contention for his surviving friends. Fellow communist activist and a close friend of Mark Ashton, Lorraine Douglas, accused the film of having "glossed over Mark's politics and said nothing about the fact he subsequently became General Secretary of the YCL", the youth wing of the CPGB.

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend ''Pride'' took £718,778 at the UK box office. The film was the third highest-grossing release of the weekend, behind '' Lucy'' in second place and '' The Boxtrolls'', which debuted at the top of the box office. During its second weekend at the UK box office ''Pride'' retained its third-place position on the charts, with takings of £578,794. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' reported that the film had a drop of just 12% in takings during its second weekend at the box office, as well as a strong weekday performance at the box office, commenting: "After a somewhat shaky start, Matthew Warchus' film is displaying signs of solid traction with audiences." In its third weekend at the UK box office, ''Pride'' dropped to sixth in the charts with takings of £400,247 over the weekend period. By its fourth weekend ''Pride'' had dropped to tenth place in the box office, with takings of £248,654 and an overall UK gross totalling £3,265,317. In the US, ''Pride'' grossed £84,800 from six theatres in its opening weekend. The film expanded slowly, adding cinemas in existing markets for its second weekend followed by release in additional cities from 10 October.

Critical response

''Pride'' was met with critical acclaim. The review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

reported that 92% of critics surveyed gave the film a positive review, based on a sample of 127 reviews, with an average score of 7.6 out of 10; the consensus on the film reads: "Earnest without being didactic and uplifting without stooping to sentimentality, ''Pride'' is a joyous crowd-pleaser that genuinely works."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gave the film an aggregate score of 79/100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Geoffrey Macnab, of ''

'', noted how ''Pride'' followed on from other British films such as ''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film ...

'', '' Brassed Off'' and ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

'' as "a story set in a Britain whose industrial base is being shattered". Macnab, who gave the film a five-star review, praised the screenplay for combining "broad comedy with subtle observation", and noted that director Matthew Warchus "relishes visual contrasts and jarring juxtapositions" throughout the film. Macnab's review stated that ''Pride'' retained its humour and accessibility without trivialising the issues addressed in the film.

Peter Bradshaw Peter Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire''. Early life and education Bradshaw was educated at Haberdasher ...

, reviewing for ''

'', described the film as "impassioned and lovable". Bradshaw praised performances of the cast, including

's "taciturn shyness" in his portrayal as Cliff and the "dignified and intelligent performance" from

as Dai.

's performance as Hefina Headon, who died in October 2013, was met with positive reviews by critics. Geoffrey Macnab said Staunton's performance as the matriarchal Hefina was "part

Mother Courage Mother Courage (German ''Mutter Courage'') is a character from a Grimmelshausen novel ''Lebensbeschreibung der Ertzbetrügerin und Landstörtzerin Courasche'' (''The Runagate Courage'') dating from around 1670. The character had played a cameo ro ...

and part Hilda Ogden". Ben Schnetzer's performance as Mark Ashton drew positive reviews. Charlotte O'Sullivan, writing for the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'', said: "Schnetzer is a New Yorker with an unpromising CV (he was one of the few good things about '' The Book Thief'') and he's fantastic here". Paul Byrnes in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' described the film as "dry, surprising, compassionate, politically savvy, emotionally rewarding and stacked to the gills with great actors doing solid work". Nigel Andrews, writing for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nikke ...

'', gave the film one star out of five, describing it as "a parade of tricks, tropes and tritenesses, designed to keep its balance for two hours atop a political correctness unicycle". Andrews' review read, "Nothing in modern history is more amazing than the cultural rebranding of the UK miners’ strike as a heroic crusade, rather than a Luddite last stand for (inter alia) union demagoguery, greenhouse gas and emphysema."

Awards

Soundtrack

References

External links

* * * * *
Pride Shooting Script
' at bbc.com.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Pride 2014 films 2014 comedy-drama films 2014 LGBT-related films 2010s English-language films British comedy-drama films British LGBT-related films French comedy-drama films French LGBT-related films Films set in 1984 Films set in 1985 Films about anti-LGBT sentiment LGBT-related comedy-drama films LGBT-related political films LGBT working-class culture LGBT-related controversies in film Rating controversies in film Mining in Wales UK miners' strike (1984–1985) BBC Film films LGBT-related films based on actual events Gay-related films Queer Palm winners Films about activists Films about the labor movement Films about mining Films set in mining communities CBS Films films Films set in Wales Films set in London Young Communist League (Great Britain) English-language Welsh films English-language French films 2010s British films 2010s French films