Grimley, a Yorkshire coal mining town, which, like so many other mining towns in Britain, is facing a crisis: the Conservative Government intends to close the pit (140 pits were closed between 1984 and 1996). For Danny - Pete Postlethwaite - this tragedy is almost of secondary importance, because Danny lives and breathes for the Grimley Colliery Brass Band, which he conducts and which is entered in a national brass band competition with the final to be held in London's Albert Hall. The latest recruit to the band is an unlikely one - Gloria - Tara Fitzgerald - the band's first woman member, but she's pretty good and helps re-invigorate the other band members, particularly Andy, played by Ewan McGregor.
Brassed Off was a huge success in Britain last year, when the Tories were still in power - maybe it helped win the election for Labour, because its political heart is worn on its sleeve. Mark Herman's film is a sure-fire combination of music, sentiment and political point-scoring, a manipulative but astonishingly entertaining concoction. There are moments towards the end when the film gets away with murder, but the battling band members are so likeable and so passionate that it's hard not to enjoy Brassed Off even when it's at its most contrived.
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M
UK, 1996
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Language: English
Director: Mark Herman
Starring: Pete Postlethwaite, Ewan McGregor, Tara Fitzgerald, Stephen Tompkinson, Jim Carter
