Episode 159. Pride (2014)

On this episode of B&R at the Movies podcast Berry and Robin watch and discus the 2014 film Pride. This true story is about the U.K. gay activists who supported the miner's strike in Wales in 1984. This brought together people from different walks of life to find out they have way more in common than they initially thought. This heartwarming film is directed by Matthew Warchus and stars Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Ben Schnetzer, George MacKay, and Andrew Scott. This film will inspire you to open your hearts and minds to the world. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:16

All right, everybody. Welcome back for another episode of B and R at the Movies Podcast. I'm Barry. And I'm Robin. Right. So this week was your choice of film. So I'll let you go ahead and take us away on this one.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

So today we are going to watch Pride, which was made in 2014.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:31

It actually takes place in 1984. Oh, so it's a curry piece of in in England and in Wales, you know, that sort of thing. A lot of really good English actors. When I first saw this, I barely knew anybody. But now I've like, oh, I see him in all kinds of things. Right, I guess. I'm gonna just um say a few names. Okay. Uh George McKay. You might not know. Yeah. These will be you might not know the face uh the the name, but you might know the face when you see it.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

And and Bill is it Nye or Nile Nye.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Oh, I think it's Nye. I know you're yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:13

He he's in this.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

He's very good.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

And Andrew Scott, which I didn't know that he was such a big English actor. Um and he's in this. So that's really nice. And Emilda Sto Sto Stoughton. Stoughton. Okay. Um, you know, everybody knows her from Harry Potter. If you'd watch Harry Potter, you'd know her from Harry Potter. And a lot of other things too. Hello. She's very good. She's really good. And then Patty Constantine, and you're gonna see that's another one. You're gonna see that face point. Oh my god, who is that?

SPEAKER_02 1:48

That's Patty.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Uh Dominic West. Um he again, he is yeah, he was in um, he's done um some of the last episodes of The Crown.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 2:01

Um that kind of and then the one that I didn't know, but he does play the main character. It's been uh Snetzer. Snetzer, I'm gonna say. Okay. But he he does play the main character. Um This is a true story. Okay, uh, which I always love. And um it is it is about um gay and lesbian people that decide that they're gonna support the minors because the minors were in strike in 1984. Okay, all right. And that that's the premise of the movie. And that's that is really what they did. This is really what happened. A lot of it, you know, because I've read up on it, a lot of it is like really so true. This is just what happened, you know. Okay. It's really interesting. Uh huge uh amount of um secondary characters uh that are are excellent English actors, probably working really hard. And I don't know hardly any of them. So yeah, uh, but they they are really, really good. Um and it's just one that I'll never forget. Um and the story just I I really loved the story when I when I sort first saw it. I knew nothing about it. I just picked it up and watched it. I probably checked it out of the library. Okay, and um, yeah, I just I never forgot it. And so I'm really kind of excited to have you watch it and see what you think. All right.

SPEAKER_00 3:25

Yeah, it's always kind of good when that kind of happens where it's like, you know, you know, you may know like one thing or you may know a per you know an actor or something, and then it's like, all right, you know, just take a chance on it, and then when it turns out to be something great, and then you're just like, oh, you know, this is why haven't I known about this?

SPEAKER_01 3:41

Yeah, yeah. So I mean and with me too, I think, well, not that I saw it in 2014, but I saw it quite a long time ago. And um I really don't didn't know a lot of English actors. And I I you know I've learned along the way and I've been introduced to some that are just like super famous and popular in England, been acting forever, and I've barely heard of them. So it's it's kind of nice to watch a film, and and I like watching more films where you know it's it's other actors, and you know, I mean if you you know, if you'd watch Downton Abbey, hello. And really, and in Harry Potter too. Almost every English actor is in Harry Potter. I hello. They all they all wanted to, so they all got a little part. There you go. So, you know, it's it's a lot of English actors, and uh it's really kind of nice. And like um uh Dominic West, who is in this, who who's in The Crown, also did one of the movies from Downton Abbey. Um I you know, he had a part in that. Okay. In well, in the second and the third movie. I'm a real dork about Doughton Abbey, so never mind. But you know, and um and Emilda Straughton was in Harry Potter was also in um the one of the movies for Downton Abbey, also. Second and the third, actually. Uh, you know, it's just it's just kind of nice that you know I'm I'm getting to know them, but I feel kind of like, but they're so I mean, they're so famous.

SPEAKER_02 5:14

I had no idea.

SPEAKER_01 5:15

And here it's like, oh, I'm just meeting you. It's like, um, you know, and there's other English actors like Martin Freeman. I absolutely love Martin Freeman now. It's like, where have I been all my life?

SPEAKER_02 5:25

And not watching Martin Freeman.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Well, you know, I have to watch Sherlock Holmes, I guess, the you know, the British show. Yeah, yeah, you know, yeah, because you know, Martin Freeman. Hello. Yes, yes, he's fantastic. I need to watch more of this man. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:40

So that's awesome. Yeah, it's it's it's so great when it's like you discover those people, and like you said, like all of a sudden you find out this whole body of work that they've done. I know, you know.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

And and and well, really my a little bit of my education is you know, seeing all those little clips from Graham Norton.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

And I see actors and like Andrew Scott on there, and going, Oh, he's really famous. Oh, I didn't know this.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

There's so many times when I catch a Graham Norton clip too, you know, where it's just like, I I see the couch of you know, there's four people that are always on the couch, and it's usually like, okay, I know that one, and I that one looks kind of familiar, and it's like, and then there's always one I have no idea.

SPEAKER_01 6:19

I love it when it I have no idea, and I like it when they tell a story about what they're going on, you know, and they're really funny or they're very personal, and they talk about all their he talks about their career, and it's like, oh my god, they've had this huge career, and I've never even seen you before. So anyway, um, I thought it was a little bit ironic because of the movie we watched last week with the accents.

SPEAKER_02 6:41

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:41

Okay, so English accents. English accents, yes. I caught this right away. I don't know, maybe they made it easy English accents. Oh, okay. You know. Um, but um it is there it it is funny, it's poignant, it's serious, it's a little bit of everything, but um it is it is one of these that it it really does, you know. It makes you want to go out and just Google it and find out really what happened, you know, kind of thing.

SPEAKER_00 7:09

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 7:10

Find out what especially if you if you don't know about the minor strike and all the details, what they were going through. Um and so this this is a little taste of it. And then if you you know are interested, it's like, yeah, go ahead and Google it. You'll find out really how tough it really was. Okay. But I think this kind of introduces it a little bit. Um, uh, to see if, yeah, are you interested and you want to know more? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:33

All right, yeah. I mean, I I definitely don't know about the the minor strike, so I definitely Margaret Thatcher.

SPEAKER_01 7:40

That's all you gotta know. That's why, you know, when she died, the song that they played was Ding Dong the Witch is dead, because of what she did to the miners.

SPEAKER_02 7:51

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Yeah, she really alienated. It was really yeah, it was very it was, yeah. Yeah, it was really tough. But yeah, Margaret Thatcher is behind why the miners because they want us close she decided they need to close so many pits, mining pits. Okay, and they went on strike against it. Uh and then sometimes there are people that wanted to continue to work or they were, you know, bringing in, you know, strike break, you know, breakers to go in. Right, right, right. And a lot of violence, um, a lot of arrests. Um, and people were out of work for over a year. Wow. And it was very tough. And that's why the gays and lesbian group decided they wanted to try to help help them out.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

All right. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, it's one of those where it's like a true moment of time that I don't know anything about.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

So it's like you'll go you'll you know, I like it because you will go into it with an open mind. And I think you at the end you will like the the movie, but I'll see ask you know how you liked it was how it was put together also.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 8:59

I thought it was put together pretty well, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:02

Definitely, yeah. Yeah, we'll talk about all the aspects of it and yeah, yeah, break it down. So, all right, sounds good. All right, well, we're gonna go ahead and watch Pride, and then we will come back a little bit to talk about it. Okay. All right, we will be back in a little while. All right, everybody, welcome back. We just got done watching Pride. And since this was my first time watching it, then I'll take us away on the review on this one. Okay. Um, I thought it was really well done. Um, I liked it a lot. Um I like the I like the message. I like the story. Um story that I I didn't know anything about, so it was that was really wild that it's like just finding out just like something that happened, like not not super long ago, too.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

And it was like 1984, 85.

SPEAKER_00 9:55

Yeah, yeah. So just over 40 years ago, and it's like, yeah, it's something that, you know, just the uh the fight and the struggle that people go through, you know, for that, you know, I always think of just you know civil rights and you know, marches and everything like that, you know, all that you know, all that was back in the 60s and like you know stuff like that. But it's like, no, it's still it was still a struggle, and it still is, and it's like it's pretty wild. But um, yeah, I thought it was I thought it was great. Um I really liked that it felt like every location was legit, like where they were filming.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

It was like felt like they were you gotta believe they were in Wales.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

Yeah, it definitely had that that is gorgeous.

SPEAKER_01 10:38

Oh, it's so different.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Oh, absolutely, yeah, it's beautiful locations. Um, yeah, I thought um thought the music was great. I thought um the story was great. A lot of actors, like you said, that um I see their faces going like, oh yeah, I know that I don't know that one. Yeah, so there were there were definitely a lot of those, uh probably about um at least probably five or so that I've just like, oh yeah, I've seen stuff before.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Because you've seen them in other things now. It's like, oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

Right, right. Yeah, there's the the one guy that he I know him from um Underworld. Uh and which one was this? Um he's the guy he's the um the older guy that um announces that he was gay um when they're butter in the bread. Oh, Bill. Bill. Okay, I didn't I can remember his character's name, but yeah. Yeah, um, yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:26

No, Bill Bill Bill Nye.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah, the actor, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So he's the one who who was in the underworld films. Oh, yeah. So that's that's where I know him from. So um, but anyway, uh yeah, so I thought it was a great actor's for um all over. Um you really, really believed each one. Um and the ones you hated, you really hated. The ones you liked, you really liked.

SPEAKER_02 11:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Um, but I thought they were all very well done. Um, and I like that you didn't need a lot of backstory um on why, you know, why they're they're sh why they're uh standing up for the causes and why they're doing what they're doing. It's like you don't you know, they just they're they're just doing what is right and they're that's what they're doing.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

I mean, well really right from the beginning of it, in just a few minutes, you kind of get the whole idea of why they're striking and and what's going on. So I like that. And I mean it's not trying to teach anybody anything, but it but if you if you know if you're really interested, yeah, this will teach you something, you know. And in the end, it does c you know, lots lots of reading going on at the end, just they're trying to tie up, you know, like what what really happened.

SPEAKER_00 12:46

Yeah, which uh which I always enjoy when it's a true story of like you know what what happened to the people later on. And I wish they would have done more. Um they only focused on a few.

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Yeah, but the but the you know well, and I can let you know um Jonathan, the real Jonathan, okay, who has AIDS is still alive.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

He's still living with HIV AIDS, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:08

That is wild. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:10

And he's had it for a very, very long time. But yeah, he's he's still alive today, and I think he's approaching eighty or so.

SPEAKER_00 13:17

Wow. That's wild.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

You know, so I mean uh I because I actually looked that up not too long ago. Yeah, because you can look up, you know, um from the movie, you know, you get their names and you can look up and just kind of see see what's going on and who's still around. And uh yeah, it's uh it's it you know, it it for me it's very interesting and and for me it was very eye-opening. Um I think it just broke my heart to know that they were defeated, the the miners were defeated, and they w they went back to work. Yeah. Uh that was just like, oh you gotta be kidding me. After all that.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

Yeah, and then and I know with every strike where you know they do, you know, there's compromises on both sides, and you know, they come to a mutual agreement, but you know that they had to have caved on a lot of things in order for in order for it to go to go back.

SPEAKER_01 14:14

And really then it wasn't too long and they started closing the pits. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:18

Um which changed like they said it would, it just changed the community and changed the well and there's yeah, and there's so many of those towns where they there are my the mining towns.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

So that yeah, it's it's really it's really kind of tough. Yeah. I thought it was really interesting too when I was reading about, you know, the strike and everything, you know, this last week. I was just kind of reading up on it. And um when we watched that one episode of the crown, the Aberfan.

SPEAKER_00 14:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Um, yeah, they they were on strike also. Oh, were they? Yeah, wow. Because that's in Wales, and that's you know, it's kinda like, oh, okay. You know, the disaster was in the sixties. Right. And but then this is was in the eighties. But um, yeah, yeah. So it's it's it's it's it's it's a interesting story. It's it's a nice way of like, you know, it's entertaining, but it kind of shows you, you know, like different ways of life and kind of what was happening then.

SPEAKER_00 15:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

And uh how much they all hated Margaret Fa Thatcher.

SPEAKER_00 15:22

It was a it was the one thing they knew that they could they could come together on, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

Yeah. But uh, but yeah. So but um, but yeah, you know, I mean, and it's you know, it and if you if you look it up, if you read it all of the movie is true.

SPEAKER_00 15:39

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

It really did happen that way. That is really what happened, and it's they so I f I feel like they did a really good job in this movie. And obviously they must have had a lot of heart into the story when they they made the film.

SPEAKER_00 15:53

Well, and and you know, it it does it is a teaching film, you know, and it does um because it's it's about acceptance and it's about understanding that, you know, yeah, this person may be different from me in other ways in certain ways, but we're in the same struggle together. You know, we're in the same we're in the same fight together. Yeah. And it's it's that coming together of like of like no, we're we're one. We are one people. We are one. And it's like we need to stand together. And it's like, and I like and that's a very that's a very powerful, very poignant message.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

There is something when you're you're you know, if if you are like gay or lesbian or in that community, you you can fight for your community. But how about if you step out and you fight for another community? Yeah, you know, another group, another, you know, but that are still there it's still they're fighting for their rights.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yeah, you know. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

And I think there there is something to that to kind of um yeah, branch out. And then a lot of this was you know, that people were saying, No, I mean, you're not you're not part of us, so we'll we'll do our own fighting and you do your own fighting, but why?

SPEAKER_00 17:12

Yeah, exactly. And it's like, yeah, we're yeah, we're in the same fight. We don't need to be fighting separately. And it's like, yeah, yeah. And yeah, and I like that that it was of, you know, they're they were accepting of everybody. It's like and it's not just oh, yeah, this is my group, and we're we're the only ones in this group. It's like, no, you want to join us? Come on, join us. You know, we're in the same fight together. And I and I that's that's the one thing I really love where it's just like you just have people that are just like we we see the injustice and they're gonna do the right thing, and that's like that's what it's all about, just doing the right thing and it's standing up together. So yeah, it's it like I said, it's it's powerful stuff where it's like and it it holds true, you know, it holds true today, you know.

SPEAKER_01 18:00

It's like it's you know, like you know, this film ages really well, but again, it it takes place in the 80s, so you know, you don't have to think about you know out-of-date things or anything like that. But as far as just the message of it, um, yeah, yeah, and and and you know, it's just one that I saw and I've never forgot. And uh, you know, I got a you know, I just got a soft spot for this this film in my heart. I really do.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Absolutely, I can totally see that. Yeah, where it just, you know, it it draws you in. And you know, and it's it's done well. It's you know, it's good story, it's good characters, um, good cinematography, you know, and really understanding what you're what the message is in the film of what you're trying of what you're trying to convey. Yeah. Um, because there's so many times where it's like the idea could be there, but if it's not said in in the right way and it's not presented the right way, then the message gets lost. And this one I felt like it was very it was very strong throughout it, of like, no, this is this is what the message is. And I like that they were showing the characters like as they're going through their own personal struggles and their own personal yeah, you know, ways of getting of just getting through life, whatever, whatever that entailed, but they were coming together for the one ca for the main cause. And that's what it was like. It's like, yeah, you're going through your crap, I'm going through my crap, let's go through, you know, we're going through this together. And it's like, so yeah, so no, it's real it was really it was really well done. I really I really liked it. And then then, you know, of course, a lot of good 80s music in there, you know. So I gotta think.

SPEAKER_01 19:45

Yeah, you know there was gonna be some. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:47

Yeah. So no, it was it was definitely it was definitely good. I liked it a lot. Uh I like that it showed, you know, the the communities that were both terrified of each other at the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:00

You know, and they're yeah, because they don't know how each other's gonna react. They don't know, they don't know what's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_02 20:07

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:08

And to see them come together, you know, and then and fight for each other. And that's what it was all about.

SPEAKER_01 20:15

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. It's it, you know, because it is hard when you when you're different or other people perceive you as different, right? And then it that's meant with uh, you know, anger or violence. And you know, you get weary of people that want to, you know, get near you.

SPEAKER_00 20:37

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

And then t to understand that no, it doesn't have to always be that way. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:45

Yeah, it was it was it was a great film. I it was really well done. Yeah. I yeah. I enjoyed I enjoyed it, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 20:53

Good, good. I'm glad. I'm glad. I I really wanted to kind of uh let you see it. I I was assuming you were gonna like it, but you know, still it's like no, it's just one of these, it's one of my faves, so there you go.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Yeah, yeah, no, it and like like you said, like I mean this this the same story could have been placed in the 60s, and you'd be like, Yep, that totally makes sense of that that happened in there. And it's like, no, it could be placed, you know, in the 2000s, and you'd be like, Yep, totally believe it. Could be placed yesterday, and you'd be like, Yep, totally believe it. And it's like because it is, it's it's still true, it's still it's still happening. It unfortunately the struggles are still happening. Right. You know, we haven't we haven't fully gotten there, right? You know, which is a sad to say as a you know that we're still that we're still struggling, you know.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

It's like this movie is a hopeful movie, though. It really is. It really does. It gives people hope that, yeah, you know, even though things can get rocky and things can get weird and you're kind of branching out and doing something different, that you know, it it sometimes does work out.

SPEAKER_00 21:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:57

You know, you know, if you just hang in there with a

SPEAKER_00 22:00

And because they came together. And you know, they had the community. They have each other's community to back to back them and hold together.

SPEAKER_01 22:08

And just to be open-minded, it's it's so hard to be around people that are so closed-minded. It just it just pains me.

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Well, that's like the one lady that it the in the film where it's just like just drives me crazy. Whereas and the thing is that she's she's teaching her kids to be like her.

SPEAKER_01 22:28

Right, exactly.

SPEAKER_00 22:29

And it's like so close-minded to everything.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

Yeah, and that's the way it goes, too. You you know, the families and the you know, it's just yeah, it's uh the I mean there's always gonna be that.

SPEAKER_00 22:39

Right. Yeah, and that and I think that's that's an important thing of like that's that's where it starts. You know, that's the first lesson is at home, is is about acceptance and about about understanding that yes, people are different from you, but that doesn't make them bad, you know. That makes them special because they're different. Learn their differences, learn who they are.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Yeah, well, and to understand that you know everybody's a little weird, yeah. Everybody's a little different. Aren't we? Aren't we all different from each other? We are all so why why you know single out people or judge people? And it's just that's just kind of how uh you know. So this this movie just helps me remember that.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

Yes, exactly. And plus you get the little old ladies in this film that are great. You love them though. Oh, they're so funny.

SPEAKER_01 23:27

Yeah, the one the one lady with the the glasses and the you know the hair, you know, and she's she gets out of the band.

SPEAKER_00 23:33

Where are my lesbians? It's like, oh, it's so funny. She's a riot. Yeah, but yeah, it was it was really, really it was really well done. Yeah, I liked it. I I definitely enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

I I'm glad. Yeah, yeah. And it was touching. I cry a little bit through it at a few little moments.

SPEAKER_00 23:50

Yeah, there's I mean, there's definitely there's definitely those moments that kind of get you choked up and stuff because you just know the fight that you know that people are going through. And I was and I gotta say, I was terrified of there being more violence.

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:05

I the whole time I was waiting, yeah, and I was just like, I was like, oh, cause because like you you just you don't want it to happen, but you're afraid it's gonna happen every second. Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:14

You know, and it's like and this is us watching this. I mean, can you imagine people? Oh my god, yeah, literally.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

Oh my god, yeah, I can't even imagine that.

SPEAKER_01 24:22

You know, oh gosh.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

Well, and uh, you know, it kind of reminds me of like when we were watched Milk, and it was you know, because of the same thing of of fighting for gay rights, and and it's the same thing where it's just like the whole time we were just like you know the violence is coming, and it's like you just don't know when it's gonna hit, and you're just like you just you're like bracing for it. Yeah, that one's a tough one. Yeah, well, and that one because you know it and how the violence ends, you know.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

Because I mean that they don't make a mystery about it, everybody knows how it's everybody knows how that one ended.

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Yeah, but I like and so and uh and I like that this is you know a story that took place in London, in Wales, you know, and it's so it's not you know, with when we're watching milk, it's like it's you know, it's still an American story and it's still something from here. And it's like so it's like it's not this is not just a struggle here, and that's the thing I I like that it was like it really opens up a bit like no this this is worldwide. This is this is happening, this happens everywhere. So and I and I thought I like that a lot, and I thought that was really good. Um that you it's able to able to show light into that.

SPEAKER_02 25:30

So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:32

Okay, but it's really well done. Yeah, and like you said, like there's a lot of good actors and a lot of ones to to look out for and remember the the stuff you're yeah, because I'm gonna be on IMDb and be like, oh what else was that person in?

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Oh yeah, that's right, that's right, that's right. You're gonna be doing that, you're gonna be doing that, yeah, yeah. Because yeah, really they're just excellent, um well, I shouldn't say just English actors, but English actors that that are uh, you know, just are very well known. But um in my world, you know, I'm still learning, you know, about all the English actors that I really like. So yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:08

Yeah, absolutely. Well, should we go ahead and wrap this one up?

SPEAKER_01 26:11

I guess so.

SPEAKER_00 26:12

All right, well, thank you everybody for listening. Uh, make sure you guys go check out Pride. And until next time, I'm Barry.

SPEAKER_01 26:18

And I'm Robin.

SPEAKER_00 26:19

And we will talk to you guys later.