''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 History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film written by

Stephen Beresford Stephen Beresford (born c. 1972) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for writing the play ''The Last of the Haussmans'', produced by the National Theatre in 2012, and the 2014 historical comedy ''Pride'', which won the Queer Palm ...

and directed by

Matthew Warchus Matthew Warchus (born 24 October 1966) is a British theatre director, filmmaker, lyricist, and playwright. He has been the Artistic Director of London's The Old Vic since September 2015. Personal life Warchus is married to American actress L ...

. Based on a true story, the film depicts a group of

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

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 Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) was an alliance of lesbians and gay men who supported the National Union of Mineworkers during the year-long strike of 1984–1985. By the end of the strike, eleven LGSM groups had emerged in the UK ...

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. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festi ...

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 Bil ...

, 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 ...

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 prod ...

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

Plot

Upon watching the news about the

miners' strike Miners' strikes are when miners conduct strike actions. See also *List of strikes References {{Reflist Miners A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two s ...

, gay activist

Mark Ashton Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fin ...

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 "

". 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. 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 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 The Electric Ballroom is a 1,500-capacity performance venue (primarily for rock bands) and indoor market located at 184 Camden High Street in Camden Town, London, England. History The Electric Ballroom started as an Irish ballroom in the 1930 ...

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 s ...

, 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 Benjamin Schnetzer (born February 8, 1990) is an American actor. He was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards for his performance in the film ''Pride'' (2014). Early life Schnetzer was born and raised in New York City, the son of a ...

, 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 as Jonathan Blake, 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 Chris Overton is an English actor and filmmaker, best known for his film, '' The Silent Child'' for which he received critical acclaim and won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. Overton is the husband of Rachel Shenton, who wrot ...

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, c ...

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

as Hefina Headon, 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 Woo ...

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 ...

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 Karina Fernandez is a British actress. She is best known for her performances in three of Mike Leigh's films – '' Another Year'' and ''Happy-Go-Lucky'' and ''Mr. Turner''. Fernandez graduated from Drama Centre London. She is an instructor at ...

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 Monica Margaret Dolan (born 15 March 1969) is an English actress. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Rosemary West in '' Appropriate Adult'' (2011). Career Dolan was born in Middlesbrough and trained at the Gu ...

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 hos ...

as The Old Lady at Bingo. * Russell Tovey 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 a ...

and won the Queer Palm award. The film was also screened at the

2014 Toronto International Film Festival The 39th annual Toronto International Film Festival, the 39th event in the Toronto International Film Festival series, was held in Canada from 4–14 September 2014. David Dobkin's film '' The Judge'', starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert D ...

, 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 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 of Walt Disn ...

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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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 world ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

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 ...

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 Distrib ...

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 publish ...

'' 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, Unit ...

'' article which further compounded the issue by mistakenly stating that the MPAA had given the film an

NC-17 rating The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a motion picture's suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures ...

. 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 Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...

'' in second place and ''

The Boxtrolls ''The Boxtrolls'' is a 2014 American stop-motion animated fantasy comedy film directed by Graham Annable and Anthony Stacchi (in their feature directorial debuts) loosely based on the 2005 novel ''Here Be Monsters!'' by Alan Snow. It is produc ...

'', 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. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' 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 is ...

'', ''

Brassed Off ''Brassed Off'' is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure ...

'' 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

"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 r ...

and part Hilda Ogden".

's performance as

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 ''The Book Thief'' is a historical fiction novel by the Australian author Markus Zusak, and is his most popular book. Published in 2005, ''The Book Thief'' became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 mil ...

'') 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 Nigel Andrews FRSA (born 3 April 1947)ANDREWS, Nigel John
''Who's Who 2015'', A & C ...

, 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, Nik ...

'', 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