Pride

There is very specific type of earnestness that comes from British feel-good comedy dramas, where the underdog overcomes exceptional circumstances thanks to a motley crew of hilarious supporting characters – we’re thinking of The Full Monty, Billy Elliott and the likes – which you can’t help but naturally warm to. Pride very much follows in those footsteps, with the added agenda of actually being historically and currently very relevant.

It’s the summer of 1984 and we’re in the midst of the National Union of Mineworkers on strike due to Thatcher’s scheming, and a group of LGBTs up in London are finding the local police aren’t harassing them as much now that they’ve got the strikers to arrest. Seeing them as kindred spirits, the group set up a charity to help the miners, and pick out a specific small Welsh town to send the money on to. Local representative Paddy Considine comes up to London to collect the money, and invites them back down to his home so they can be thanks in person, but the small town mentality isn’t quite ready for their out-and-proud lifestyle.

As our way in, George McKay plays the newest member of the group and the most recent to out himself (if not to his family), but he’s a bit of a wet blanket so the film has no qualms in dropping him from time to time. Much more interesting are Andrew Scott as a gay-bookshop owner and Dominic West as a flamboyant ex-actor, while the Welsh constituents are headlined by Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton, both on top form. Staunton in particular, usually cast so dowdyish, is a shoo-in for one of the funniest scenes of the year when she discovers the ‘naughty drawer’ in a new gay friend’s house.

From time to time the film can’t help but go to the lowest common denominator – we’re never given any real insight into the homophobes mind-set other than they’re naturally bad people, and the local tough straight guys break down their barriers when they want to learn how to dance from the hip-swinging visitors –but it’s never out of caricature, more out of laziness.

This level of homophobia existed in London, now one of Europe’s more accepting capitals, less than 30 years ago, and Pride manages to bring to light a very serious subject matter in a very entertaining manner. Expect the BAFTAs to come calling.