Mike Leigh is a director who likes to do slice-of-life-type stories in his films. They mostly take place in Britain. He is able to take normal people in Great Britain and make their lives interesting. His latest film is Hard Truths about a woman who has issues with a lot of the people that surround her in her everyday life. This is the kind of indie film I love to watch and I’ve been a fan of Leigh’s films in the past. I’m sad to say this wasn’t one of my favorites from him.

Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), an angry Black woman goes through her day-to-day life lashing out at her family, specifically her husband,  friends, and neighbors who live in her area. No matter what they do they can’t make her happy. One member of her family though, her sister Chantelle (Michelle Austin), doesn’t take this lying down and decides to give her a piece of her mind. She gets in her face and tells her to get over herself. This is the only person Pansy responds to though.

The angry Black woman plot is one that has been before and no matter what the main character’s issues are, whether they be anxiety, depression, loneliness, or something else the way this woman is treating her friends and family isn’t right. Just because you are having a bad day, week, month, or year doesn’t give you the right to be disrespectful to others. I’ve had my issues of being angry in the past so I understand being upset with the world. I’m not Black, but this still makes sense.

Leigh tries to propose that this woman featured in the film has some health issues or a midlife crisis.  It’s a thing that goes on all over the world in many different cultures. I personally know somebody that is very similar to this woman and I felt like I was watching her on screen when I was watching this film unfold. This story isn’t specifically a British story so that’s why I give it the benefit of the doubt. It’s very frustrating watching it unfold. 

The key relationship in the movie is the one between the sisters. As a man with a twin brother and three siblings on the whole I have had good and bad interactions with them over the years. In tough times we rally around each other. We’ve all been through tough times and have had health issues. Life can be hard no matter what race, creed, or religion you’re from.  Life isn’t easy for everyone. You just got to figure out how to try and make lemonade out of lemons if you can. The two sisters in this film go at each other, but they eventually confide in each other and use each other’s comfort to help one another. That is what family is supposed to do for each other.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is an actress I’ve been keeping my eye on ever since I saw her in In Fabric, about a killer dress, not that long ago. She has been doing solid work overseas for years now. This is her first big breakout hit in the States. She’s worked with Leigh before as well in Secrets & Lies. They are a good combination of actor and director. Their specific abilities as an actress and director duo seem to have good chemistry with each other. This may garner Jean-Baptiste some awards buzz this season if Bleecker Street can push her as they should. She deserves it despite my issues with the angry Black woman story.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen