Brassed Off (1996) is a British film written and directed by Mark Herman . The film is very dark comedy about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. The soundtrack for the film was provided by The Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own stuggles against pit closures. The film is scoffed at by some in the brass band world, but is generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music.
The film stars Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. The film was well-received as a comedy, and by some as a political statement about the state of traditional coal mining communities in Britain. Released shortly before the 1997 UK general election which removed the Conservative governemnt of the past 18 years, it was a timely and accessible piece of propaganda.
Background
The films is set in "Grimley" in the mid-1990s — a thinly disguised version of the real South Yorkshire village of Grimethorpe, which had been named as the poorest village in Britain two years earlier by the European Union. Nearby towns and villages, such as Hemsworth, Fitzwilliam, Thurnscoe and Goldthorpe, were also identified as in need of serious aid. Indeed, the soundtrack for the film was recorded by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the story roughly reflects Grimethorpe Colliery Band's history.
The miners in the film put up little resistance to the coal board's harsh redundancy policy. This can understood in the context of the 1984 UK miners' strike, which effectively destroyed trade union power in British coal mining industry. The film depicts the spirit of hopelessness 10 years after the strike, and the miners attempts to find redemption. An ongoing piece of symbolism in the first half of the film is the lack of conversation between one miner and his wife, until she finally criticises him harshly for not making a show of resistance against the closure, when he had been so full of fight in 1984.
Whilst some may think that the film would be exagerated for political purposes, the directors were actually more concerned that the film might tarnish the image of Grimethorpe, hence the name change to "Grimley". To this end, the extent of the poverty in that area is not reflected in the film. Whilst the fictional "Grimley colliery" saw 1000 men lose their jobs, the real "Grimethorpe colliery" saw 6000 men lose their jobs.
Story
Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) has been sent to her old hometown of Grimley to determine the profitability of the pit. She also plays the flugelhorn brilliantly, and is allowed to play with the local brass band, made up of miners from whom she must conceal her purpose. She renews a childhood romance with Andy (Ewan McGregor), which soon leads to complications.
The passionate band leader Danny (Pete Postlethwaite) finds he is fighting a loosing battle to keep the rest of the band members committed. His son Phil (Stephen Tompkinson ) is badly in debt and becomes a clown for children's parties, but fails to prevent his wife and children walking out on him. As his father Danny is hospialised from a mining-related disease, Phil has a breakdown in front of a group of children (one of the darker scences of the film), and later attempts suicide.
As the coal mine itself is finally closed, the band finds success in a brass band competition. Despite several set-backs, the band eventually reaches the final at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The film's climax attaches a significance to this seemingly small victory in the face of their greater troubles — the miners have rediscovered the hope in the future that they lost 10 years ago.
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