Brassed Off | | Cast : | Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald, Ewan McGregor | | Director : | Mark Herman | | Studio : | Miramax Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen | | Released Date : | May 23, 1997 | | DVD Released Date : | March 01, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 22, 2005 | | Summary | Brassed off is a real treat......with top notch performances | Content
 | Pete Postlethwaite (William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, The Usual Suspects) plays Danny, the conductor of The Grimley Colliery Band and who lives in a town where soon many jobs will be on the line do to a redundancy. He has his son Phil, played by Stephen Tompkinson in his band as well and his son is facing losing his job with losing his family because he didnt pay these 2 guys on time...also he does clown work for little kids at partys and such. Also in the band is Andy, played by the always superuber cool Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Episodes 1-3, the upcoming The Island) and when his ex-lover Gloria, played by the lovely Tara Fitzgerald, things around them all start to turn. A smart, funny and enjoyable movie with Postlethwaite, McGregor, Fitzgerald and especially Tompkinson in flawless performances...dont miss this really exciting and heartfelt treat. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 15, 2005 | | Summary | Terms of Endearment for Coal Miners? | Content
| I'm reviewing the vhs version here because I think more people will see it and I'm not going into any "extra's" anyhow.
So lets get to the movie. I titled my review as such because when I did a "Big Fish" review, someone else called that film the "Terms of Endearment for men". Which I didn't get. (If you read my review on that movie (please do and if it is helpful rate me please!) It was more about the adventures of one man, Edward Bloom, than about the relationship dynamic between a father/son. Maybe the lack of a relationship, throw some "Postcards From the Edge" in there and really confuse people-but I don't know. That comparison was making a purse out of a pigs ear if you ask me. And if you're reading this, you're asking me, -sorta.
I should note that you have to read my "about me" section if I tend to wander. It'll mangle your mind.(Reference to another film-Velvet Goldmine, 5 Stars also)
So back to "Brassed Off" and time to stop being brassed off about the "Big Fish" review.
It's an older movie but since it's set in one of those
Ireland/Scotland/Wales/North Britain villages that never age it's timeless. It could be happening yesterday for all we know except for a brief reference to Margaret Thatcher as the current Prime Minister at the beginning. The story is typical and well known. It's been done with great success in
many films, the most popular probably being "The Full Monty" which also went on (inexplicably) to be a broadway musical.
The "MANAGEMENT" (ooh they MUST be evil) are deciding whether the coal mine that supports the town is viable or not. Lines are drawn, we are supposed to root for the litle guys who of course aren't the scabs and all of them just happen to play in the only other viable operation the town has going for it, a brass band.
That is after they climb out of the mine shaft covered in soot, swinging their lunch-buckets at the end of the day, and are suitably cleaned up. You can picture it already can't you? Hard working lads who enjoy a pint now and then.
Immediately we are introduced to the the character of "Glorious [...] Gloria"(Tara Fitzgerald) who left the town sometime ago. How happy under the circumstances that not only does she play the fluglehorn brilliantly, she also works for MANAGEMENT; and has a shared past first sexual experience with Andy (Ewan McGregor), a trumpetor himself. She just doesn't feel the need to disclose that bit of information to anyone, not even poor Andy.
This fits neatly into what is essentially a sideline to the story.
The heart of it is Danny (Pete Postlethwaite), the bands conductor, and Phil(Stephen Tompkinson), his son who got into a lot of financial trouble during the last strike at the mine years ago and is losing everything, including his family and eventually part of his mind now that MANAGEMENT is back in town. It is this story that holds "Brassed Off" together, not
the Ewan/Tara subplot that the box cover wants to sell copies from because of Ewan McGregor's fame.
I am a giant Ewan McGregor fan, just look at my profile and lists and you'll see that, but this movie is soooo not about him. He is a bit player. If that is what you are shopping for then ok, it's a good part, small but good.
Other than that it is the story of how a town can drag itself out of the ashes, how a father and son can have a relationship together that isn't manly or sappy but real. It is a story of how sometimes when you have very little to hold on to it's better to hold tighter when giving up would be the easiest thing to do. Spoiler alert if you read the next paragraph!
The ensemble casting was perfect. These were real people. This was a real place. It has a happy ending -I'll spoil that for you but isn't that what you want? A happy ending?
This is a film that depicts people who have reached the very lowest they can go and the very highest they can acheive, and yet there is still room for more hope and happiness at an unfinished ending. I highly recommend this to anyone who liked the Full Monty. I recommend this and add that you wil enjoy it more. I also recommend the soundtrack. Who knew Danny Boy by a brass band could be so
moving?
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| Rating | | | Date | May 26, 2005 | | Summary | An All-Time Favorite | Content
| To read the synopsis on the back of the box, you'd assume this is just another fluffy romantic comedy. Did the writer even watch the movie? While it does have its comic and romantic moments it's basically a serious look at the residents of a British mining community and the stress and despair faced by families and community as their source of livelihood, the mine, faces closure. The story follows the one remaining ray of community pride as the miner's Colliery band competes for a shot at the championship in London. It also follows the political and management process of choosing efficiency and profit over the welfare of the miners.
The entire film is well acted, the music is outstanding and the story is at once heart-breaking and heart-warming. A wonderful movie!
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| Rating | | | Date | April 27, 2005 | | Summary | brass - should be seen! | Content
| Although this is really a serious movie, it is very funny at the same time. Having been in a british-style brass band here in the United States that went to the "nationals" (NABBA), this was a very enjoyable movie to watch. Ewen McGregor is listed as a supporting actor in the movie, but it is really an ensemble cast. Pete Postlethwaite runs amuck going from highs to absolute lows throughout the picture. The brass band is a real band from England and this is a true story that is being told. The William Tell Overture would never be used as the "test" piece for a brass band championship, but it is very recognizeable to a wider audience and makes for a great finale piece as it is used in the movie. It is fun to hear a brass band perform the piece. I highly recommend this movie. It is a real sleeper and deserves to be seen. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 18, 2005 | | Summary | A serious film whose honest heart makes it worth seeing | Content
| Unfortunately, this movie came out around the time of "The Full Monty" and it also deals with the unemployed in dying industries in Britain. Where "The Full Monty" is funny "Brassed Off" is serious and wrenching. No punches pulled here. It avoids bathos because it keeps it eyes focused on the bewildered pain of the coal miners and their families. "Monty" became a huge hit and "Brassed Off" went away largely unwatched. It deserved better.
The story is set in the time of Margaret Thatcher. Many of the old government owned industries were drowning the government and bleeding taxpayers. They were privatized or closed. This caused terribly painful dislocations (as did the much needed recession in the US in the early 1980s). Through this movie we get to see how these dislocations crushed everyday folks caught in the moving parts of these changes. I come from a working class background and have seen the pain of recession and dislocation up close and personal. It hurts and really fine people who work hard and just want to get through life are often damaged severely.
The Grimley colliery (a colliery is coal mine and attendant structures) has been in operation for a long time. One of the traditions of many large working class operations is a brass band whose players are drawn from the workers. In the United States, community brass bands were quite common until WWII. The Grimley band (there is a real life Grimethorpe Colliery band that plays the music in the film) has a long and proud tradition and in the movie is led by Danny (played by the fabulous Pete Postlethwaite). It even has its fans and groupies who dye their hair the same shade of purple as the band uniforms.
The music in the film is a wonderful device and only partly because the band music sounds so good. Art is always an extravagance. How much do you sacrifice in time and money for it? That is always the question and the balance. As I say, my parents worked hard as I was growing up. However, my Dad sang beautifully and the love he and his friends had for music rubbed off on me. Heaven knows the price my own wife and children have paid for my devotion to that art.
Danny's son, Phil (poignantly done by Stephen Tompkinson), plays trombone and is a bit of a bumbler. He supplements his income for his family by being a rather inept clown as well. There is a beautiful but awful side story in the film about Phil's need of a new trombone and his struggle to balance that against the needs of his family and yet what price art? His wife bears the cost of his devotion in wrenching ways. Phil is the point on which all the weight of this film bears to crushing effect.
A young Ewan McGregor plays Andy. For me, Andy points to the whole heart of the problem. Andy is a very bright young man. He really does understand what is going on. However, he has always felt like a loser, so he turns himself into one. When I see the passivity and sense of entitlement in the soon to be redundant miners, I frankly get a bit frustrated. No power on earth can stop economic dislocations from happening. Oh, they can be delayed, but a greater cataclysm will follow. And why should other taxpayers be forever burdened with providing a subsidized living for an inefficient industry? Yes, the Grimley pit was making money, or so the report showed.
However, none of these people had enough of a financial education to put the pit in the broader context to see if it made sense to operate one pit. This is what bothers me. We have to do a better job of preparing people to make changes in their lives. We have to equip them with a better understanding of economics and finance. Of course, that will make them more expensive, but they will be more expensive because they will be able to create more value. Being more flexible with the ability to provide more value is a good thing.
I won't get into the whole drama of the movie except to say that it is honest and touching. The politics are quite anti-Thatcherite, which is appropriate for the characters. However, I think the filmmakers were pushing their own agenda a bit through the voice of the characters and that is a tad bothersome. Thatcher was no more responsible for the economic dislocations than gravity would be if you fell off a roof. But I guess you have to blame someone and she was certainly convenient.
In any case, a fine movie. The language is a bit rough and you might (might) have a bit of a trouble with the working class accents. I encourage you to see it. |
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