Brassed Off

Brassed Off is a film that was made in 1995 but set a few years earlier in the Yorkshire village of Grimley. The film centres around the local communities’ colliery or coal mine which is facing closure under Margaret Thatcher’s Tory Government. The plot follows six main characters whose lives all interlink through the pit’s brass band. It is hard to say if this film set out to be a comedy, or a social commentary, but in my opinion it manages to slot well into both of these categories. This however doesn’t seam to be a view I share with most of the critic reviews that I have read.

The overriding fault that was found with this film was that people thought the characters were ‘underdeveloped’ as the film was trying to do too much. Alternatively it was said that the film was overly sentimental and one that tries to preach to its audience. Whilst I can see their point, I actually really like watching this movie. I first saw Brassed Off on the stage in Sheffield, and it wasn’t until years later that I saw this film. It is one of the few times that I have seen a performance at both the theatre and film and struggled to choose which I preferred.

Although I enjoyed watching Brassed Off, I am struggling to pinpoint what exactly it is I liked. The acting of the cast and the script have to be two of the most contributing factors, but I think overall what I appreciated was the plot. Yes, there are points when you think that they have been a bit too excessive when showing how difficult life was for some people; however, in my opinion the acting in these places compensates for this. Through the talent of the cast and directing you are actually able to believe what would otherwise be a very overdramatic part to the film. I can see that Brassed Off would not appeal to everybody, but in my opinion it is a story that manages to incorporate love, pride, duty, injustice and humour all into one. For this reason, I think it will always be one of my favourite films.