|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources
|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources
He is committed to the band in body and soul, seemingly oblivious to the troubles of the town so long as the playing continues. Thus, when a couple of band members decide that times are just too tough for them to continue with the band, they know that Danny is going to give them a hard time. Fortunately they're saved from confrontation by a new musician, the shapely Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald). Though she's not strictly a colliery employee, she was born in Grimley and her grandfather was the best flugel-horn player that the band ever had. With that pedigree, Danny welcomes her in, much to the delight of the younger members (especially Andy (Ewan McGregor), still the owner of a schoolboy crush on Gloria). Unfortunately she appears to barely recognise him, so that places an immediate dampener on Andy's thoughts of romance.
As Danny's exhortations turn to the coming National Championship and the chance to play in the Albert Hall, his band members have their mind on other things. The future of the colliery hangs on an upcoming ballot, with the choice of either fighting or accepting redundancy. The catch is that the management are offering a sizable lump sum now, yet will reduce it substantially if the workers fight on. A real blackmail scenario, especially when no one wants to appear the scab by accepting defeat, yet most could use the money. Phil (Stephen Tompkinson), Danny's son, is one of those caught in this trap; he has huge debts left over from the strike of a decade previously and money-lenders planning to strip his home bare. Meanwhile Gloria and Andy find themselves becoming involved, unaware of the tricky situation that they'll soon find themselves in.
The basic theme of Brassed Off is both extremely worthy and rarely touched upon by contemporary cinema. However, while the desecration of the mining industry, and working-class people in general, holds centre-stage, the film cleverly focuses on the colliery brass band. By shifting the emphasis to something which is dependent upon the colliery yet fundamentally separate, Brassed Off manages to inject both humour and a dash of real-life into the otherwise dour proceedings. Many of the funny moments stem from the direct, unpretentious dialogue, with the characters making as much fun of themselves as others. This is a great aid to the film because it both sets the scene and gives the roles a touch of believability.
The real coup of Brassed Off is the casting, with a number of fine character actors making an appearance. Postlethwaite dominates the movie as the most completely drawn figure, acting impressively as the single-minded, driven conductor of the brass band. With the infamous mining disease of "black lung" bringing Postlethwaite to his knees, there's a definite feeling that he is reprising his role of In the Name of the Father. While the surrogate family draw close around Danny by the end, each of them is plagued with their own problems and annoyances. With the mental and financial scars of the Eighties strike still fresh for some, there is great scope for watching the union members rip into each other while the management look on in smug glee. Unfortunately most of the minor characters are under-developed, which makes their actions seem arbitrary.
A rewarding, and surprising, aspect of Brassed Off is how well integrated the big-band tunes are. Cropping up everywhere from rehearsal to the Albert Hall, they prove to be quite affecting, which explains the popularity of such bands rather succinctly. However, Brassed Off's attempt to combine feel-good comedy with political point-scoring is somewhat more uncomfortable. In an effort to communicate its message, the film veers from soap-box didacticism to far-fetched fantasy, failing to do justice to either. A partial cause of this is the packing in of as many sub-plots and incidents as possible, without allowing them the room to breath and grow (it's astonishing how so many critical events all come to a head at exactly the same time). By far the best moments occur on a personal level, with the general malaise of the town and gradual estrangement from family being projected clearly. So, Brassed Off is a qualified success which, at the very least, doesn't get all nostalgic for some far-off "golden age" that never existed.
|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources