‘Hard Truths’ – Review
Mike Leigh is a filmmaker who doesn’t just tell stories, he crafts lived-in worlds brimming with raw emotion, human frailty, and, most importantly, truth. With Hard Truths, he returns to the big screen with a gut-wrenching, deeply affecting drama that holds nothing back. This is a film that demands your full attention and, in true Leigh fashion, offers no easy answers—only the unvarnished complexities of life itself.
Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), angry and depressed, lashes out at family and strangers. Her constant criticism isolates her, except from her cheerful sister Chantelle (Michelle Greenidge), who remains sympathetic despite their differences.
At the center of this deeply intimate portrait is Pansy Deacon, played with heartbreaking honesty by Marianne Jean-Baptiste. A middle-aged woman suffocated by a bitter narcissim and which is fed by her a raw sense of hart-shattering depression and anciety, an where every interaction for her feels like a battle. Whether it’s the quiet discontent of her husband Curtley (Patrick Robinson), the distant indifference of her unemployed son Moses (Jayden Elijah), or the overwhelming presence of her free-spirited sister Chantelle (Michelle Greenidge), Pansy’s life is a study in emotional exhaustion. She is angry. She is tired. She is, most of all, stuck. And through the course of this picture, Hard Triuths becomes a study of what true empathy looks like.
Leigh has always had a talent for exploring the everyday struggles of ordinary people, and Hard Truths is no exception. Through a series of naturalistic, often painful conversations, the film peels back the layers of Pansy’s existence, revealing years of resentment, unspoken hurt, and desperate longing. All of which have made her into the woman she is today, and it is earth shatteringly sad to witness. You feel a whole plethora of emotions when watching Jean-Baptiste’s performance, from disbelief to anger, to contempt and ultimately sympathy, and her’s is a performance from an artist at the top of her game. The scenes between Jean-Baptiste and Greenidge, in particular, are electric—charged with the kind of unfiltered sibling tension that can shift from laughter to cruelty in an instant.
But what makes Hard Truths truly compelling is its refusal to provide easy catharsis. There are no grand gestures of reconciliation, no sweeping monologues that tie everything up in a neat bow. Instead, the film lingers in the uncomfortable, forcing its characters, and its audience, to sit with the weight of their own emotions. It’s a bold storytelling choice, but one that feels undeniably authentic.
Visually, the film is as unembellished as its narrative. Longtime Leigh collaborator Dick Pope employs a muted, naturalistic color palette, capturing London in all its unglamorous realism. Close-ups linger just a little longer than expected, ensuring that every flicker of emotion, every suppressed tear, every tightening of the jaw, is felt to its fullest. Leigh’s signature improvisational approach to dialogue makes the film feel almost voyeuristic, as if we are eavesdropping on a family that is crumbling before our eyes.
Of course, none of this would work without the powerhouse performances at the film’s core. Jean-Baptiste delivers what is arguably a career-best turn, navigating Pansy’s contradictions with astonishing nuance. Greenidge is equally magnetic, bringing warmth, humor, and a simmering sadness to Chantelle. The supporting cast—particularly Elijah and Robinson—also shine, ensuring that every character feels lived-in and deeply human.
Hard Truths is not an easy watch, but it is an essential one. It is a film that will linger in your mind long after the credits roll, forcing you to confront the quiet struggles of those around you, and perhaps even your own.
Image: The RESET Collective
