Like to take a break from the regularly scheduled report of my trip to Washington state to talk about Pride.

**** Pride (September 2014) – Theatre. Starring Matthew Flynn, George MacKay, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, and others.

He says: That was a great movie.

She says: Pride is based on the true story of a how a group of gay and lesbian activists in London decided to raise funds for the miners striking against the Margaret Thatcher government in 1984. As depicted in the film, the gay rights group at first had trouble even getting anyone in the Miner’s Union to return their phone calls. But by bypassing the national officials and directly  contacting a small, affected community, they find some local support. The two groups gradually gain trust in each other, but are challenged by the rising spectre of AIDS on the one side, and the drawn-out and seemingly hopeless nature of the strike on the other.

That synopsis likely makes the movie seem somewhat sad and dreary, but it’s actually anything but that. Much in the style of “The Full Monty” and “Billy Elliott”, it starts from a place of sadness to tell an ultimately triumphant story with a lot of humor. The movie to me seemed perfectly paced (which I guess reflects editing skill); it never seemed slow, information was hinted and revealed at just the right times. It made you feel good — about people, about the world — without milking the emotion.

The trailer gets that across pretty well:

It’s a great movie.

(By the way, we also, finally, saw Guardians of the Galaxy a few weeks ago. That was good, too! But we liked Pride more.)