Before I start I'll say that "Brassed Off" is a silly name for this film. I would have chose something else. "King Coal" maybe? I dunno... anything but "Brassed Off".
Anyway, I'm from one of South Yorkshire's ex-mining communities so I approached this film with a more critical mind. The coalfields have never been depicted well on film so I approached this with low expectations... and it exceeded them.
This film really feels like they did their research. The accents are done pretty well and I definitely feel like I'm looking at a Barnsley mining village when I watch it, so I guess they did well with that. It's one of the better portrayals of South Yorkshire's coalfields, though there are still Northerner clichés in places that bug me.
The main problem with this film is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. It doesn't know if it's a comedy or a hard hitting social commentary condemning Thatcher and the Conservative party. If they wanted to do a social commentary they should have just done a straight up social commentary. No need for any romance stuff. It's the social commentary and seeing how these characters cope with the situations they face which interest me the most and make this movie.
There is comedy in here, which does stop the film from getting too depressing and political, though saying that if you're looking for a comedy then you might be disappointed as it does get pretty serious in the middle of the movie as the harsh reality of the situation hits home for the characters. If you're looking for more laughs I recommend The Full Monty instead.
I really wish they would have gotten rid of the unnecessary sub plot; the relationship between Gloria and Andy. To me it brings brings nothing to the movie, but I suppose at the time there was the mentality that "you must have at least one tale of romance in a film". I suppose if that's your thing (like the Jack and Rose romance on Titanic) then you'll like it I suppose. They do have chemistry. It's just not what I think the film should have a large focus on. The mine is closing and this probably had a huge effect on the lives of people in that community. The romance sub-plot is small potatoes.
It's a good film, though in my opinion The Full Monty did it better. It blended comedy, romance, drama, commentary on masculinity and politics way better. Brassed Off didn't keep it simple, doesn't flow as well, feels like a load of ideas slopped into one and the romance sub-plot is too distracting and ruins the film. I still recommend you watch this though (maybe after The Full Monty). The cast are outstanding, the film has characters that you really want to root for, the music is great, the film at times is incredibly touching and sad and if you live in a ex-mining area like i do the message at the end really hits home.
Anyway, I'm from one of South Yorkshire's ex-mining communities so I approached this film with a more critical mind. The coalfields have never been depicted well on film so I approached this with low expectations... and it exceeded them.
This film really feels like they did their research. The accents are done pretty well and I definitely feel like I'm looking at a Barnsley mining village when I watch it, so I guess they did well with that. It's one of the better portrayals of South Yorkshire's coalfields, though there are still Northerner clichés in places that bug me.
The main problem with this film is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. It doesn't know if it's a comedy or a hard hitting social commentary condemning Thatcher and the Conservative party. If they wanted to do a social commentary they should have just done a straight up social commentary. No need for any romance stuff. It's the social commentary and seeing how these characters cope with the situations they face which interest me the most and make this movie.
There is comedy in here, which does stop the film from getting too depressing and political, though saying that if you're looking for a comedy then you might be disappointed as it does get pretty serious in the middle of the movie as the harsh reality of the situation hits home for the characters. If you're looking for more laughs I recommend The Full Monty instead.
I really wish they would have gotten rid of the unnecessary sub plot; the relationship between Gloria and Andy. To me it brings brings nothing to the movie, but I suppose at the time there was the mentality that "you must have at least one tale of romance in a film". I suppose if that's your thing (like the Jack and Rose romance on Titanic) then you'll like it I suppose. They do have chemistry. It's just not what I think the film should have a large focus on. The mine is closing and this probably had a huge effect on the lives of people in that community. The romance sub-plot is small potatoes.
It's a good film, though in my opinion The Full Monty did it better. It blended comedy, romance, drama, commentary on masculinity and politics way better. Brassed Off didn't keep it simple, doesn't flow as well, feels like a load of ideas slopped into one and the romance sub-plot is too distracting and ruins the film. I still recommend you watch this though (maybe after The Full Monty). The cast are outstanding, the film has characters that you really want to root for, the music is great, the film at times is incredibly touching and sad and if you live in a ex-mining area like i do the message at the end really hits home.