"Brassed Off" contains a lot of entertaining moments, and is one of the few movies that successfully bridges the gap between a comedy and a drama without losing authenticity on either side. There's a lot of great music, good performances, and touching stories, and throughout a lot of this movie I was very entertained. In particular, the three-line exchange beginning with "Would you like to come up for a coffee?" contains some of the best comic timing I've heard in a long time. Most unfortunately, however, the breadth of this movie bites off more than it can chew, and the handling of its political side left me with a sour taste in my mouth.
The most obvious of this movie's weaknesses is the fact that it argues against the closure of the mining pit the members of the band work at (never mind that the band is easily good enough to turn professional), while barely recognizing the fact that the workers themselves had the opportunity to keep the pit open, and passed on it. Does it not make sense to anyone else that if the closing of the pit were a fundamental wrong, as the movie states, that the workers of the pit would have voted against it?
The characters of this movie utter "Progress" as though it were a four-letter word. And faced with the closure of their pit, their viewpoints are understandable -- no one enjoys losing their job -- but the movie goes beyond the tragedy associated with being pushed to change, and instead argues that the closing of these coal mines is an absolute evil. Yes, as the final political tub-thumping speech reveals, the English government has systematically destroyed an entire industry. But to be fair to the other side, it's an industry that just as systematically destroys the lungs of its workers (a situation which the movie also capitalizes on, without ever arguing that something might be wrong with the system because of it), and that doesn't mention the destruction of the environment due to pollution.
It's a shame that a movie as otherwise entertaining as this one gets lost in a political message that doesn't hold water. The characters, while entertaining, are so completely arch conservative that they defy common sense. And the movie is so convinced that its message is right that it skips right over the holes in its logic and pretends they aren't important.
The ending of this movie makes for the greatest case of this differential, as the band gives an amazing rendition of the William Tell Overture, and then follows it up with a political speech so contrived and devoid of reason that I felt sick before it was through.
Although I mildly recommend this movie, I suggest you watch it for entertainment value only. To analyze the reasoning, or lack thereof, behind its political hubbub is to lose a lot of respect for it.
The most obvious of this movie's weaknesses is the fact that it argues against the closure of the mining pit the members of the band work at (never mind that the band is easily good enough to turn professional), while barely recognizing the fact that the workers themselves had the opportunity to keep the pit open, and passed on it. Does it not make sense to anyone else that if the closing of the pit were a fundamental wrong, as the movie states, that the workers of the pit would have voted against it?
The characters of this movie utter "Progress" as though it were a four-letter word. And faced with the closure of their pit, their viewpoints are understandable -- no one enjoys losing their job -- but the movie goes beyond the tragedy associated with being pushed to change, and instead argues that the closing of these coal mines is an absolute evil. Yes, as the final political tub-thumping speech reveals, the English government has systematically destroyed an entire industry. But to be fair to the other side, it's an industry that just as systematically destroys the lungs of its workers (a situation which the movie also capitalizes on, without ever arguing that something might be wrong with the system because of it), and that doesn't mention the destruction of the environment due to pollution.
It's a shame that a movie as otherwise entertaining as this one gets lost in a political message that doesn't hold water. The characters, while entertaining, are so completely arch conservative that they defy common sense. And the movie is so convinced that its message is right that it skips right over the holes in its logic and pretends they aren't important.
The ending of this movie makes for the greatest case of this differential, as the band gives an amazing rendition of the William Tell Overture, and then follows it up with a political speech so contrived and devoid of reason that I felt sick before it was through.
Although I mildly recommend this movie, I suggest you watch it for entertainment value only. To analyze the reasoning, or lack thereof, behind its political hubbub is to lose a lot of respect for it.