Hard Truths (Mike Leigh, Marianne Jean-Baptiste)

[cwej]

This was brilliant. Best film Leigh has made in a long time and easily the best performance of Jean-Baptiste’s career. I didn’t really know she had this level of vitriol in her as I have often found she’s played quite softly spoken, calming characters.

I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that Pansy is the antithesis of Poppy from Happy-Go-Lucky. Pansy throws aggression and bitterness at anything that comes her way whereas Poppy throws optimism and humour at anything that comes her way- but both of them masking the reality of what they’re really thinking and feeling.

Michele Austin also gives best performance of her career and I’m very disappointed that she wasn’t recognised by BAFTA at least for supporting actress.

Really loved it. It’s typical Leigh obviously. But something I have missed in film in recent years.

 

[Finn]

The line about the baby grow at the end of the trailer is just sensational in its delivery and content. I'm hoping to see this tomorrow and am so excited.

 

[Ellie]

I can’t fault any of the performances, but it was really quite relentless with spending time with Pansy and her depression and anxiety, with it affecting everyone around her. It’s not supposed to be a pleasant experience, but it just never lets go. The film just sort of ended and nothing really “happened”.

It was Happy-Go-Lucky in reverse, but I absolutely hated that film and this was much better.

 

[jivafox]

Loved it so much. I ended up being genuinely nervous every time a scene went back to Pansy - especially that scene where her sister phones her from the salon and she’s at the shop

She’s such a monster but the way the grave scene just peeled back so many layers with so few words, and you end up just wanting her to get better.

 

[cwej]

The ending was particularly brutal I thought. Yeah nothing happens, but you kinda know that going into a Leigh movie. But even though 'nothing happens', SO MUCH happens.

I agree it was utterly relentless though.

 

[Ellie]

The ending was particularly brutal I thought. Yeah nothing happens, but you kinda know that going into a Leigh movie. But even though 'nothing happens', SO MUCH happens.

I agree it was utterly relentless though.

I would have at least liked maybe one scene with the husband and son possibly talking about something between them. They had also zero verbal interaction with anyone. It had clearly been going on for years too and affecting their mental health, so everyone was well aware of what their auntie was like. Even a scene with the sisters talking about anticipating her visit.

My issue is that I actually work with someone a bit like Pansy, only with fewer amusing nasty observations about society and she doesn’t have a loving family (thankfully 2 weeks ago her team moved to another floor and it’s been BLISS since then). We all know she needs to help herself first and nothing anyone says to her could help. When she leaves a room after a session of loudly spending ages putting herself and other people down, we tend to talk about what we just witnessed.

 

[VoR]

This is on Netflix now, I watched it last night. Really an extraordinary performance from Marianne Jean-Baptiste. The scenes between her and Michele Austin are just perfection - their relationship felt so real and lived in, even in the face of Pansy's relentless hostility.

So many incredible scenes, but one that really stood out to me outside of the sisters' dynamic was the sequence where Pansy chews out the sales assistant in the sofa store and then scuttles away to her car rather than face the store manager. It managed to be laugh out loud funny but really sad at the same time. That character could so easily have just been a dragon in the hands of a less nuanced actress.

The fact that neither of them got Oscar nominations is an absolute crime.