Film Review: Brassed Off

Director: Mark Herman

A British drama that was sponsored by Channel 4 and The Guardian newspaper, it was expected to be a very low profile film which might garner some support over time as people who relate to the issues of the mines closing around the UK begin to see it. Nobody expected it to become the huge hit that it became and is now revered as a classic British movie.

The film is set in the fictional mining town of Grimley in the mid-1990's, which is based on the real town of Grimthorpe. The local workers all work as miners but also play in colliery brass band which includes Andy (Ewan McGregor), Phil (Steve Tompkinson) and passionate conductor Danny (Pete Poslethwaite). Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) re-appears in the town to investigate the viability of keeping the coal mine open on behalf of the management at British Coal after having grown up there. She becomes torn between her feelings for the local people and being honest with her bosses about the pit.

Grimley Colliery Band

A moving drama which lightens the mood with some well placed comedy. It is a film about one communities fight against the sweeping change that is happening throughout a nation and changing the landscape forever. The local communities realise that the closure of the mine would mean the death of jobs and an economy in the town, something that still hugely affects many towns around Yorkshire and Northumberland especially. Behind the sweet moments involving Andy and Glorida there is a lot of anger and anti-conservative sentiment at the way the Thatcher regime broke the trade unions and destroyed people's way of life.

The acting performances are genuinely impressive especially from Pete Poslethwaite, who you can see takes huge pride in the success of the brass band. He hides his anger when mistakes are made or member turn up drunk but shows all his emotion when things go right. It's a superb movie that has you rooting for the miners from start to finish.

4/4 funny yet unmistakeably bleak and real