It's been a while since we've seen a new film from Mike Leigh, the venerable director of kitchen realist films like Life is Sweet and Secrets & Lies. Having had trouble finding funding for his next endeavour, Leigh has finally been able to bring us Hard Truths.
Re-teaming with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who Leigh directed to an Oscar nomination back in 1996 with Secrets & Lies, Hard Truths tells the story of Pansy, a woman who appears to be angry at the world. She has a nice home, but nothing satisfies her, beneath the surface rumbles a deep unhappiness that is let out in massive outbursts to her husband Curtley (David Webber), her son Moses (Tuwain Barrett) and her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin).
From the off this is Leigh at the height of his powers. A film of raw emotion that looks at the little moments that make up a life. For such a hard-edged role he's wise to call on Jean-Baptiste again, even with her outbursts of verbal abuse and rage filled monologues there's a sense that there is something more to what is bothering her. Jean-Baptiste has always been a reliable screen presence but rarely gets the material to truly show what she can do. Luckily Leigh is here to give her something juicy to work with.
It helps that Michele Austin, a regular Leigh collaborator, is up to the challenge of sharing the screen with Jean-Baptiste as her more approachable younger sister Chantelle. Loving but unable to fully understand the rage her older sibling feels. There's a raft of fine support, not least from Ani Nelson and Sophia Brown as Chantelle's loving, and very funny, daughters.
The film doesn't offer many easy answers, or really many answers, but instead shows us a portrait of someone who is living with an almost unspeakable rage within them. It's a portrait of mental illness, undiagnosed and untreated by people who can't articulate what is happening to someone they care about, someone they know.
Leigh's films aren't for everyone, it's low stakes, and very well observed, but for anyone who knows what Leigh is capable of, the simple plumbing of the human depth, this is a film for them. It's a reminder that not all films need to be flashy, showy or about big explosions but actually when a film can tell you something about the human condition it is at it's best. Here Leigh is at the height of his powers, with two powerful performances to show us why he remains one of the UK's most important filmmakers and someone we should cherish. It's a difficult time, but one worth embarking on.
Welcome back, Mike.
Hard Truths screened at the London Film Festival 2024