Based on a true story, Matthew Warchus’ delightful Pride is set in the UK in 1984. Margaret Thatcher is in full power and the National Union of Mineworkers is the middle of a painful and long-lasting strike. At the Gay Pride march in London that year, a group of gay and lesbian activists decide to raise money to support the families of the striking coal miners. There’s only one problem: the Union rejects their support — they don’t want to be seen associating with homosexuals. Amazingly, the activists are not deterred. They ignore the Union and go directly to the miners themselves. They choose a mining village deep in the heart of Wales and set off in a mini-bus to make their sizable donation in person. And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities coming together in a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership. With a script by Stephen Beresford, Pride features a brilliant cast including Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, Andrew Scott, Jessica Gunning, and George MacKay. I recently had the chance to talk to Beresford and Jonathan Blake, the real-life character portrayed by Dominic West in the film.
Danny Miller: Forgive my American ignorance, but I have to admit that I was barely aware of the 1984 miners’ strike, much less the activities of the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners campaign.
Stephen Beresford: You’re not ignorant at all, it’s a very little known story, even in the UK. It’s true that the miners’ strike is something that is quite well known because it was such a trauma in the country and a huge battle that really changed things. But when I was first told the story of this group, I was as surprised as you were — in fact, I found it almost impossible to believe! It makes me wonder how many other extraordinary stories about ordinary people there are that we don’t know about.
It’s true. I so admire the resolve and tenacity of this group. To be honest, I think if I were devoting all my time and energy to helping people who then spit in my face and said they didn’t want my help because of who I was, I’d be tempted to tell them to go fuck themselves! Jonathan, how did you all find the strength to keep going in the face of such resistance?
Jonathan Blake: We were just very committed to aiding the miners, it was really important in terms of what was going on in the country. We were so used to homophobia at that time, it was something that was part of our daily lives, that we just dealt with it and got on with it. But once we went to Wales, most people were very supportive. Well, when we first arrived and went into the big hall in the union building, a big hush descended on the crowd when they saw us. We thought, “Oh God, what are we doing here?” And then one person started applauding, then another, and soon the whole room was welcoming us with such warmth. Remember, these were people who were really suffering at the time. They offered us tremendous support, it was truly astonishing.
I think it’s impossible not to fall in love with almost every character in this film. I don’t think I’ve cried that much during a movie since Terms of Endearment! But here we’re a bit distanced from the politics. Did you get a different reaction in the UK from people who supported Thatcher’s policies?
Stephen: I feel very strongly as a writer is that it’s not my job to write didactical films. It was very important for me to write this story in a way where you didn’t have to be left-wing to enjoy it. Personally, I’ve never joined a political party in my life — the only thing I’ve ever wanted to join is the circus. And that was cruelly snatched away from me by my parents who insisted I get a formal education instead! But it was very interesting when we screened the film for a lobbying group in the UK called Stonewall. They had a special screening of Pride as a fundraiser for some very powerful and wealthy people. After the screening, a number of people who were huge fans of Margaret Thatcher and who certainly didn’t belong to the world of the working class portrayed in the film, came up to us and said, “I love Margaret Thatcher, I am a card-carrying member of the Conservative Party, and I work for Goldman-Sachs, but I absolutely loved the movie!” That really pleased me. Of course the people involved in this story had very strong political beliefs. But in the end it’s not about party politics, it has a broader, more humanistic relevance.
I assume that to create a film based on real-life events there are certain liberties you have to take to make it work in that two-hour format?
I was very upfront with Jonathan and everyone involved that I would have to fictionalize some things in the story to make it work as a film. I wanted everyone to be aware that this was not going to be a documentary — and, of course, even documentaries are edited with a certain point of view! But it was very interesting — once I started writing it, I found that the real events were so much more compelling than anything I could make up. Mostly everything you see in the film actually happened with just a few deviations. I combined some characters and made the group a bit smaller. And I moved a couple of events around to make it more dramatic. What mattered to me was that the spirit of what they did was authentic and that the people involved would feel that when they watched the film which they did. I’m very proud of that.
Jonathan, I can’t even imagine what it must feel like to watch these events from your life 30 years ago happening on the screen. Dominic West is so great playing you. Did you get a chance to spend much time with him?
Jonathan: Matthew Warchus, the director, brought Dominic to meet me and my partner, Nigel. Matthew asked us to talk about how we got involved in the group and all about our political backgrounds. Dominic just absorbed it all, it was extraordinary. I remember showing him all of these photographs of how I looked back then. I had this big shawl and this beret because, you know, I was going to be Che Guevera! And Dominic completely conveyed all of that. There’s this wonderful photograph of me dancing at the union hall in this pair of trousers that I made myself and it’s all there in the film, all these little details. It’s just incredible to watch.
I have to say that Dominic West’s big dance number in the film goes down with John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and Treat Williams dancing on the table in Hair as a true classic! I assume you were that talented a dancer in real life?
(Laughs.) I wish that I could say that I was — but no, not really. But I had a wonderful time and I danced with the kind of abandon you saw Dominic convey in the film.
Stephen: One thing in the film that actually happened is that the women of this town were so excited to finally see men on the dance floor in their hall. That had never happened before, only the women would ever get up there! So when this group came and all of these men started dancing, they were absolutely thrilled!
Did you know Dominic could dance that well when he was cast?
Poor Dominic. He rehearsed and rehearsed every spare moment that he had! I do remember when they first told me that Dominic got the part, I was thrilled because he is an incredible actor and he reminded me so much of Jonathan — he’s very charming and has a very warm quality — but the first thing I said was, “Listen to me, he really has to be able to dance!” And you know how agents talk, they always say, “Oh yeah, my client can dance, he’s a regular Nijinksy!” I was so nervous but we soon discovered that he really could dance, thank God! But the poor guy, he worked and worked and worked. I think he went through nine shirts when we shot that scene!
Everyone in the cast was so wonderful. I think there should be a law in Britain that Imelda Staunton has to be in every film made in the country!
I agree completely!
What about the rumors that you may turn this into a musical for the stage?
People can get a little over excited. Matthew is a multiple award-winning director in the theater, and my background is there as well so I think it was just an assumption that we’d adapt the film into a musical. The truth is we’ve had a conversation about it but we’re nowhere near doing anything like that. But never say never — I love the story and I’d be excited to think of ways to revisit it!
Jonathan, if you were back in 1984 and you could have looked into a crystal ball to see where gay rights stand 30 years later in the UK, do you think you would have been surprised?
Jonathan: Completely! None of us had any idea that our little venture to help these miners would have contributed to what has now taken place. The fact is that the miners were absolutely true to their word — they said, “You supported us, we will support you” and they put pressure on the national unions to get gay rights into the agenda of the Labour Party. And that was a direct line to civil partnerships. Even now I find it difficult to comprehend how this little action we did would transcend party lines and have an impact on our country. You know, on the day same-sex marriage — or equal marriage as we call it in the UK — became legal, our conservative prime minister and an absolute follower of Margaret Thatcher flew a rainbow flag above the cabinet office at 10 Downing Street. And that is a very long journey from the day when the conservatives were making sure it was against the law to be gay in the UK.