“Pride”: An Irresistible Feel-Good Movie
“Pride,” directed by Matthew Warchus, is released in the U.S. on Friday. I urge you to go. I didn’t see what possible freshness could be had about a British story involving gay themes and the 1984 miner’s strike: hadn’t we already seen this “pits-meets-perverts” material in “Billy Elliot”? I couldn’t have been more mistaken: “Pride” is a charming, touching movie that you should surrender ready money to see. I don’t want to oversell the film: it’s a bit too eager to be liked for me to award it highest marks. But the culture-clash story — London gays invade a Welsh miner’s town to help combat the strikers’ misery and are met, initially, with wariness and hostility — has terrific resonance. The cast contains some of my favorite U.K. actors, including Imelda Staunton and Dominic West (pictured). The 1980s clothing is hideous but the music — everything from Bronski Beat to Sylvia Robinson — is joyful.
