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 which they are constantly exposed.
Pansy is unkind, complains endlessly, and is bereft of self-awareness. The latter is abundantly clear from an early conversation with Chantelle, in which Pansy berates her alleged lack of compassion. It’s immediately clear the people in Pansy’s life do, in fact, care for her, but they have been worn down by her. Nor are they without their own significant faults. The plot? As with all Mike Leigh films, this is more a portrait rather than a three-act narrative, though a reluctant visit to Pansy’s mother’s grave, followed by interactions with Chantelle’s family, including Moses’s perky cousins Kayla (Ani Nelson) and Aleisha (Sophie Brown), provide the focus of the drama.
It’s well-directed by Leigh and well-shot by cinematographer Dick Pope. I’m surprised Marianne Jean-Baptiste wasn’t in greater awards contention, given the outstanding nature of her lead performance. The rest of the cast are convincing, and all things considered, it’s a fine piece of work. The undercurrent of dark comedy present in Mike Leigh’s best work makes a welcome return here, particularly with Pansy’s interactions in public places. But as usual, the laughter gradually ceases as it becomes apparent how desperately troubled and unhappy Pansy is beneath her incessant hostility. As is typical with Leigh, this becomes increasingly painful and uncomfortable to watch. Having said that, there is a brief hint of much-needed hope in the penultimate scene, thank goodness.
It’s certainly not perfect. For instance, subplots with the cousins lead nowhere. However, these are minor nits. All things considered, if you’re a fan of Mike Leigh and his probing (though mostly compassionate) examinations of mundane human misery, then Hard Truths is a strong return to his usual fare. But as usual, emotionally, it’s tough viewing, and I admired rather than liked it.
(Originally published at Medium.)
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