Hard Truths
2024
***½
Director: Mike Leigh
Cast: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, Jo Martin, David Webber, Elliot Edusah, Tiwa Lade, Hluko Maseko, Jonathan Livingstone, Bryony Miller, Rashid Ben Amar
Pansy is a deeply unhappy woman whose constant fear and anger strain her relationships with her husband, adult son, sister, and the rest of the world. If Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) explored the life of an overly positive person, Mike Leigh's latest is its polar opposite. Not since Naked (1993) has Leigh presented a character who is such unpleasant company. Pansy has nothing nice to say about anyone or anything, and it's remarkable that she still has family around her. This is a gritty, believable, and well-acted drama, though I wish it offered some form of closure.
