Ongoing exploration of the contemporary world with a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.

Now in his 80s, Mike Leigh has firmly moved into grumpy old man territory, as anyone who heard his recent interview with Simon Mayo will attest to, so it is not a surprise that the 15^th film of his career is about a bitter, grumpy woman, in Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy. ‘Hard Truths’ is a dramedy (a term I suspect Leigh hates!) that follows Pansy as she goes about her daily business, lashing out at everyone she encounters, whether they be friend, family or stranger. She’s a difficult woman to spend time with, and that often makes this a difficult watch, but it is sprinkled with some genuinely sharp, incisive and funny writing that delivered plenty of laughs. It is a hard film to judge.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste was so brilliant in Leigh’s most acclaimed film in ‘Secrets & Lies’, and this is arguably her best performance since that breakthrough role, in what I’d classify as a tricky role to play. Pansy is undoubtedly insufferable, mean to her meek husband and shy/lazy son (depending on perspective), while being one of those horrific customers you dread coming across while working in a customer service role. We learn over the course of the movie that she is depressed and hasn’t fully come to terms with the death of her mother a few years earlier, and that to a large extent explains why she is the person she is. In other hands, you’d expect a sympathetic portrayal and a narrative of change where Pansy learns to love herself and her family again, but this is Mike Leigh and ‘Hard Truths’ is grittier and dare I say more honest about people’s willingness to change. It makes for a more interesting narrative, but I’m not convinced it’s a more fulfilling one from a viewing perspective.

I’d also argue ‘Hard Truths’ suffers from a reliance on subplots with auxiliary characters that don’t really go anywhere. At first, I thought the purpose might have been to add some levity to what can often be a difficult watch, but then it’s not all flowers and sunshine in these interactions either as we see through Chantelle’s daughter getting an unfair grilling from her boss, which then doesn’t really go anywhere. ‘Hard Truths’ is a well-acted drama with some funny moments, but from a story perspective it doesn’t really go anywhere and that makes the bleakness difficult to fully embrace. It’s good, but it’s not great, in my opinion.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Mike Leigh

Starring: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone and Samantha Spiro

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt11891850/