Hard Truths: A Masterpiece in Suffering
Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easygoing younger sister Chantal (Michele Austin) is a single mother, her life brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. But things between the two of them come to a head over the course of one Mother’s Day weekend.1
Social realism is my favourite cinematic movement. It’s focus on working class stories, left wing themes and grounded tone speak to me on a deeply personal level. Mike Leigh, a sixty year stalwart of the movement, most recently directed historical features Peterloo and Mr Turner. Now he returns to the present-day in with Secrets and Lies collaborator Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
This is one of the greatest performances of all time.
Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy is an outstanding portrayal of a woman trapped in the darkest throes of mental illness. She demands your attention. Her relentless yet eloquent castigations of anyone unfortunate enough to cross her (once by merely saying “Can I help?”) are fantastic dark comedy. It reminds me of Todd Solondz’ Happiness: much bleaker in subject matter but equally daring in turning its horrible circumstances into comic moments.
There comes a point in Hard Truths however when the laughter stops. It’s not a whiplash-inducing halt. It’s the feeling when your risqué joke sours the mood of a party. Smiles cling on for dear life then fade away, replaced by desperate attempts to look anywhere else.
But we can’t look away from Pansy. The film refuses to treat her as a one-note joke. She’s a woman overwhelmed by pain and misery, in desperate need of help. The tragedy is that she rebuffs all efforts from her sister Chantelle, played with beautiful nuance by Michele Austin. Only after they visit their late mother’s grave that insight is given. An agonising revelation that stands out for how honest it is.
The direction of Hard Truths is fundamentally brilliant. There are few cuts, instead relying on Leigh’s efficient composition and scene-craft; a skill lost amidst a new generation of filmmakers.
Leigh’s kitchen sink roots don’t allow for typical choices. There’s much left unspoken, much that hangs grimly over the heads of each character. They are prodded and poked at, but never allowed to materialise. Some might find this frustrating but it speaks to the social realist tradition; the reflection of life as it is, not as we’d like it to be.
Flashes of optimism exist. Chantelle’s daughters (Ani Nelson and Sophia Brown) are bubbly young professionals who share a close relationship with their mother. There’s even hope for the mostly mute Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). The next generation may end up better than their parents, but there are lingering doubts. Moses remains emotionally distant. Kayla hides work frustrations from her sister. Nothing is simple.
Curtley (David Webber) reflects this complexity. His development as a character is a near mirror image for Pansy’s. We’re inclined to see him as the browbeaten husband to a bitter harpy, which doesn’t take much effort. Webber’s monochromatic expression sells this version of the character effortlessly. But as Pansy shows herself to be a tragic figure, Curtley’s part in her misery comes into question: how much is he responsible for his wife’s condition?
Questions are not easily answered. Conversations do not always take place. Hard truths go unspoken. We’re subject to an intelligent, heart-rending portrait of a woman in existential pain. Augmented by beautiful direction but anchored by a supreme, tragic performance that will rightly go in down in history. This is a masterpiece in suffering.
Hard Truths is one of the best films I’ve ever seen. I recommend it so much that I command you to see it immediately. Stop what you’re doing and get on it.
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https://www.picturehouses.com/movie-details/000/HO00015504/hard-truths↩