I loved this one to distraction; worth overlooking obvious flaws if only for a brilliant Pete Postlethwaite performance and spectacular brass music. Wears its heart on its sleeve to great effect, and if you don't cry at Danny Boy then check your ducts.
The music was gorgeous. I really did get snuffly even at the beginning, just because I could see where it was going. Oddly enough, the predictability assisted in delivering the emotional impact.
Pete Postlethwaite's face when he was conducting them at the semi-finals (his last gig before collapsing) was a priceless study of joy and pride, and the scenes with his son were wonderful--the son was excellent as well.
Ebert on Brassed Off
``Brassed Off'' is a film that views the survival of the town through the survival of the band, and the survival of the band through the eyes of Danny (Pete Postlethwaite), who in some corner of his mind probably believes the mines exist only to supply him with musicians. The movie makes liberal use of storytelling formulas (there is a love story involving young people, and a crisis involving a married couple, and a health crisis involving Danny, a strategic use of ``Danny Boy,'' and a national band contest at the Royal Albert Hall). But Postlethwaite's performance elevates and even ennobles this material.
I agree with that last particularly. I don't think it could have surpassed its flaws without Postlethwaite--although all the actors are extremely likeable, which carries a number of them through some thin characterizations.
