A One Mann’s Movies review of “Hard Truths” (2025).
The films of veteran director Mike Leigh are seldom an easy watch and “Hard Truths” is no exception. But you have to admire the art employed here. This is a riveting, sometimes funny (in a cringey sort of way) exposition about two sisters who are as different as chalk and cheese.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
“Hard Truths” Plot Summary:
Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a woman living on the edge. She is scared of everything – garden birds, foxes, life – and lashes out at everyone and everything. Her plumber husband Curtley (David Webber) and loafing and aimless son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) have pretty much given up on her and disengaged from her outbursts. The only person really batting for her recovery is her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin).
Certification:
UK: 12A; US: R. (From the BBFC web site: “Infrequent strong language, moderate sex references”. Another fascinating divergence here between a UK 12 certificate and a US R certificate! )
Talent:
Starring: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone.
Directed by: Mike Leigh.
Written by: Mike Leigh.
Running Time: 1h 37m.
“Hard Truths” Summary:
Positives:
- A truly stunning and award-worthy performance from Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
- The rest of the cast also gel brilliantly as an ensemble.
- A clever script that has you laughing at one moment and then feeling guilty you did.
- Some clever cinematography from the late Dick Pope.
Negatives:
- It’s a film that will leave you depressed at the end. Not a happy watch.
Review of “Hard Truths”:
A stunning performance.
Pansy is a brilliant character that will stay in my memory for a long time. Too scared to live, but too scared by death, she wallows in her own misery. She lashes out, in a most unreasonable way, at every single person – like EVERY SINGLE PERSON – she engages with. You can’t feel anything but pity for her husband and son, Curtley and Moses. It’s a tough role to play, but Marianne Jean-Baptiste hits it out of the park in spectacular style. A scene with her at a ‘mother’s day party’ is simply stunning and Oscar-worthy: it seems a great shame that she was not nominated for it. (She is on BAFTA’s list and I think she will have a strong chance of winning it.)
A brilliant ensemble cast.
Jean-Baptiste’s brilliance rather overshadows the rest of the cast, but they are all uniformly brilliant. Michele Austin as Pansy’s sister Chantelle treads the difficult line between love and frustration so well. And the two girls playing Chantelle’s two daughters – Ani Nelson and Sophia Brown – have such a natural charm, particularly in their introductory larking around scene, that you can’t help but fall in love with them.
So, yes, this is another film with strong and well-painted female characters. But on the male front, David Webber and Tuwaine Barrett are great as the beseiged inmates of planet Pansy. And I really loved Jonathan Livingstone (I so desperately want to add a “Seagull” to his name!) as Curtley’s plumbing mate Virgil. He’s described by Pansy as a numbskull but keeps coming out with the most erudite ‘Mastermind-like’ facts about composers and Victorian time-keeping!!
A superb script.
Mike Leigh’s script is so clever. It is incredibly funny in places, but most of this comedy is in the rampant Pansy-isms going on as Pansy drives like a steamroller through her daily relationships. These are of the slightly cringey “The Office” variety and as Pansy crashes into another depressive dip, you then feel guilty for having laughed at, not with, Pansy.
So, it’s an emotional rollercoaster of a film that leaves you feeling like a bit of a wet rag by the end, especially since the last reel – with the exception of one cute glimmer of light in Moses’s life – is a downhill stretch into the station. This definitely counts as a “Father Ted Film“.
RIP Dick Pope.
This was the last film of cinematographer Dick Pope, who died in October 2024. Pope was the go-to DP for Mike Leigh, contributing to ALL of his films back to his first film in 1990 and including classics like “Secrets and Lies”, “Mr Turner” and “Peterloo”. Pope was also DP on recent favourites of mine including “The Outfit“, “Supernova” and “Legend“. Here, for such a relatively straightforward film to shoot, he employs a really neat trick at the start and end of the film. As Curtley and Virgil drive off on their days work, the camera tracks down the road to follow them. But then stops and tracks back up the road to focus on the empty house where Pansy lurks. It’s both classy and very clever.
Summary Thoughts on “Hard Truths”
A real tragi-comedy this will have you both laughing and weeping in equal measure. I’m not sure how many films the 81 year-old director has left in him, but if he ended his career on this one then that would be a crowning achievement. It’s really very good.
Where to Watch it (Powered by Justwatch)
Trailer for “Hard Truths”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqhlf9kvtGE.
Subscribe
Don’t forget, you can subscribe to One Mann’s Movies to receive future reviews by email right here. No salesman will call!
Excellent movie, excellent analysis.
Mike Leigh has achieved a difficult job indeed.
Thanks.