Pride and The Riot Club

http://www.theriotclub.co.uk/

UK Release - 19th September 2014

I know what you're thinking. How on earth do these movies have anything remotely to do with one another. Well, truth is, they have a lot in common.

The first is that they are both British made. The second is that they share quite a few cast members (and probably crew too). And the thing is that after I saw Pride, I wanted to review it. But it had been out a few weeks by then and I kinda felt as though I'd missed my window (the same as I did for Guardians of the Galaxy - but don't worry, that one will come). Then I saw The Riot Club and I just knew I would have to combine my reviews in order to really get my point across.

So while I'm relatively calm, I shall start with Pride...

http://www.pridemovie.co.uk/

UK Release - 12th September 2014

As you might have gathered, Pride is a movie about gays (I say this with a hint of a Welsh accent and I promise you it's meant in the kindest regard). But my god it's so much more than that. It's about a time when people actually gave a shit about what was happening to their friends, their neighbours, and they stood up and fought back when things were being done to their friends and neighbours which weren't right. Most of them being done by the UK government at the time. It's set in 1984 during the miners strike, when at the Gay Pride March in London, a group of gay and lesbian activists decides to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. The only problem is that the Miners Union is embarrassed to receive their support. The activists are not deterred by this. They decide to ignore the Union and go direct to the Miners. They identify a mining village in Wales and set off in a mini bus to make their donation in person. And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities who form a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership.

Yes, most of that I got from the official Pride movie website, but it describes it so beautifully that I decided I couldn't do better. Anyway, my point is that even though I tend to steer away from British movies, and despite that fact that I read a pretty awful review for Pride, I thought it was bloody brilliant (again to be said with a Welsh accent). It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me feel. Where sadly, a lot of movies lately have not. If it's still on near you, I wholeheartedly recommend you see it and be pleasantly surprised. 8 out of 10.

And so, into the depths of hell we go. From one surprisingly great British film, to one I am sorry to have given money to. Not only that, I'm also disgusted to live in a country where the type of people depicted in this film are all too real. 

The Riot Club -

Set amongst the privileged elite of Oxford University, The Riot Club follows Miles (Max Irons) and Alistair (Sam Claflin), two first year students determined to join the infamous Riot Club, where reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of a single evening.
The Riot Club is directed by Lone Scherfig, who most recently helmed 'One Day', and the Best Picture Academy Award nominee 'An Education'. It is produced by Pete Czernin and Graham Broadbent of Blueprint Pictures ('The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel', 'Seven Psychopaths').
Screenwriter Laura Wade has adapted her critically-acclaimed play, with development support from the BFI Film Fund and Film4. 'Posh' premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 2010, before transferring to the West End.

I write about film, not for a living but because it is my great passion in life. If there is a discussion about films of any kind in my day job office, I will bend my ear to try and hear it and join in. A debate about film is even better, different views and ideas all being thrown in. If my review sparks debate then so be it, but I just want to preface what I'm about to say; I am not saying this to be controversial, or in fact to start a debate. I am saying this simply because it is how I feel.

The Riot Club made me feel physically sick. Bravo film-makers, you have made a film so vile it actually made me gag at one point. I honestly don't understand why anybody wanted to be involved in this film. It's sick, it's depraved, it's filled with horrendous characters that you can only pray you never meet anyone like. Knowing only too well that sadly, people like this, people who get away with murder because daddy can buy them out of jail, are all too real. And in fact most of them are today running our great country. 

I am sad that the BFI put it's name to this film because it will forever tarnish them in my mind. I will always wonder if the next BFI backed project will be just another Riot Club. 1 out of 10. 

I find it so infinitely fascinating that two movies, both made here, both about parts of the rich history of Britain, both with some of the same actors, can be so very different. Here endeth the lesson on British Film.

Cast Overview Pride:

Mark ~ Ben Schnetzer
Joe ~ George MacKay
Gethin ~ Andrew Scott
Mike ~ Joseph Gilgun
Steph ~ Faye Marsay
Jeff ~ Freddie Fox
Jonathan ~ Dominic West
Dai ~ Paddy Considine
Sian ~ Jessica Gunning
Hefina ~ Imelda Staunton
Cliff ~ Bill Nighy

Cast Overview The Riot Club:

Alistair Ryle ~ Sam Claflin
Harry Villiers ~ Douglas Booth
Rachel ~ Jessica Brown Findlay
Miles Richards ~ Max Irons
Lauren ~ Holliday Grainger
Hugo Fraser-Tyrwhitt ~ Sam Reid
Dimitri Mitropoulos ~ Ben Schnetzer
Jeremy ~ Tom Hollander
James Leighton-Masters ~ Freddie Fox
Charlie ~ Natalie Dormer