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Film Review — Hard Truths
Marianne Jean-Baptiste is outstanding, but as usual with Mike Leigh films, this is often too painful for comfort
Generally, I admire rather than like Mike Leigh’s slice-of-life dramas. I fully appreciate how well crafted they are in terms of Leigh’s famous improvisational style and the generally excellent nature of the performances. But they are often tough to watch because they can be unflinchingly real. Sometimes too real for comfort (1990’s Naked being a particular case in point, which I felt didn’t need all the rape scenes). However, that doesn’t mean they aren’t absorbing. It simply means one might leave the cinema a tad depressed.
Leigh recently made a left turn into historical drama with Mr Turner (2014) and Peterloo (2018); both of which I enjoyed more than most of his contemporary films, though my favourite of his is still Life is Sweet (1990). However, he’s back on familiar turf with Hard Truths. It concerns depressed, perpetually anxious, viciously bitter middle-aged Londoner Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), and her relationships with her hairdresser sister, Chantelle (Michele Austin), her plumber husband, Curtley (David Webber), and her lazy adult son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). The latter pair are mostly silent and probably just as depressed, given the tongue-lashing tirades from Pansy to…
