Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Fatman, The Sea Beast) effortlessly portrays a woman on the edge of an emotional breakdown. However, Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths being an easily relatable week in the life of tale only goes so far. Moments of insult comedy laced with zingers aside, the film comes off underwhelming.
Leigh’s (Peterloo, Vera Drake) direction and Dick Pope’s (The Air Up There) cinematography immerse the viewer in contemporary, middle class Britain. Pansy Deacon is angry. She wakes up furious, she goes to sleep exhausted and enraged. Her waking hours are consumed with jumping at shadows. Masked by pointless, barbed cynicism. Weaponised against all and sundry.
Nobody is safe from the wrath of Pansy. When in full attack, Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s performance ranges from anxiety inducing criticism to irritating, trite moaning about the state of any situation. Empathy as a viewer is easily found with her frequent targets, her adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) and her husband Curtley (David Webber).
What’s important here though, is the journey. The film revolves around peeling back Pansy’s barbed exterior to expose the fear and angst swelling underneath. She’s frustrated with Moses, who himself is facing a deep depression fuelled by Pansy’s own frequent and fierce emotional takedowns coupled with his failure to launch. Pany’s husband Curtley, a plumber by day, has simply switched off. Going through the day to day motions of what he thinks a husband should do while donning thick skinned armour against her mood.
Pansy’s angst runs far deeper though. Culminating in familial revelations that disrupt her status quo but embolden her will to make a stand against her poor coping mechanisms to change her future. The one person who supports Pany unconditionally (and is a polar opposite) is her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin). To the film’s credit, there’s a few lump in throat moments for anyone who’s dealt with this sort of thing.
The issue with Hard Truths is character arcs are lacking. The film climaxes at crucial, individual development points for each family member. Hard Truths feels like it’s missing a third act, serving to bring it all together. Which is disappointing.
Hard Truths is a difficult 6/10 contemporary emotional drama and opens in Aussie cinemas tomorrow, 6th March. It’s difficult to recommend as a big screen outing as despite some funny moments, the film lacks warmth and loses steam right when it gets going. It’s not a fun time watching a main character self-destruct, pulling everyone down around them, without clear resolution.
