BRASSED OFF
A film review by Ben Hoffman
Copyright 1997 Ben Hoffman
In Yorkshire, the town's livelihood depended on the pit mines. This was true of many towns in England; this film then applies to the other towns in England, South Wales and Southern Scotland that were devastated when in 1992 many pit mines were being closed, leaving the people, the miners, the storekeepers without any income. For hundreds of years these coal mines were the life's blood of the country and its people. Suddenly, they were being shut, one after the other.
This film is about the plight of one representative town and how it fought the authorities and the independent mine owners to keep the mines open. The title, BRASSED OFF, I assume is a pun meaning "pissed off" as indeed the townspeople were but also refers to the brass band which they loved and gave them inspiration in a time of depression. Leader and conductor of the band was Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) who had worked in the mines all his life and was now slowly feeling the debilitating effects of the lung disease to which miners are prone.
Danny's spirit kept the town from complete despair but was not enough to keep the amateur musicians happy in the face of the mine's imminent closing. Luckily, along came Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) a lovely young woman who used to live in the town but had left some years ago. . . and she could play music beautifully, giving a lift to the unhappy people at a time when they needed it badly..
Intermingling the story of the mine's closing with the music of the brass band gives the film a unique feeling. They play beautifully and spiritedly but when Danny becomes suddenly ill, the spirit of the band falls to earth like so much coal being dumped. Add to this that Gloria is in love with a young miner, her teenage boyfriend Andy (Ewan McGregor) when the miners find out she is employed by the Coal Board. Despite her protests that she is on the side of the union, of the miners, she is scorned.
This, then, is the very well told story of the mines, of the people and their band. It also is the revealing story of the Coal Board. When Gloria accuses the head of the Board of having made up his mind to close the mines two weeks ago before she could get statistics to suggest they keep the mine open, he replies "That is not true. We made the decision to close the mines two years ago.".
Fine acting, uplifting music and a slam-bang ending make this a most worthwhile film to attend.
Tautly Directed by Stephen Tompkinson.
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Ben Hoffman
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