Written by: Mike Leigh
Starring: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson
Rating: [4/5]
Often we hear that hurt people hurt people as the desire to inflict pain on others comes as a reaction to an internalized struggle that has no healthy release. Everyone has their personal example of someone they have witnessed indulge in these actions. Hard Truths presents one of the more entertaining and disconcerting versions of this as we follow a woman who does not have a genial bone in her body if what this narrative spells out has any truth.
Suffering from anxiety and a short temper, Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) quickly erupts at anyone that comes across her and struggles to connect with others, even her own family. With Mother’s Day approaching, her sister, Chantelle (Michelle Austin) tries to get her to visit their mother’s grave, which Pansy has not done since her passing.
The degree to which Pansy manages to get angry at everyone around her works in two ways to entertain us as audience members where it borders on the ridiculous where we just sit back and enjoy but then there’s the part where we experience these outbursts vicariously through her. These two levels drive home much of the emotion one might feel when taking in Hard Truths. Its narrative does not have any other ambition than centering squarely on this woman and how her external and internal factors coalesce to make her act the way she does.
From moments in the supermarket or the furniture store, this seething anger that appears externally from her anxiety presents such a combative figure to the entire world. This then juxtaposes the moments where she sits home alone and can barely muster the courage to enter her own backyard because of the fears she has for what’s in the outdoors. Some of these interactions border on comical, where one has to ponder that Pansy would have found any reason whatsoever to get in an argumentative bout with others. A complete disregard for societal norms and general pleasantries as she opts for harsh words. We then get those moments at home where she goes on these rants about different details about the world that, once again, border on comical but certainly carry some level of truth.
One would think that a film so wholly centered on one singular woman ranting and yelling at others would get tiresome after a while, but I am here to tell you, it does not. As a combination of Mike Leigh’s script and a genuinely tremendous performance by Marianne Jean-Baptiste, we flow from scene to scene with Pansy and just enjoy the discomfort this story brings forth. From her yelling at her husband and adult son about their own issues on top of the strangers, the real emotional core of this story comes to fruition whenever Pansy spends time with her sister, Chantelle.
As one can tell, Pansy does not discriminate in who she takes umbrage with but no one can take it and send it right back to her like Chantelle. It would make sense given she’s been around pansy the longest from their youth, but the moments these two sisters share carry this emotional thread because Chantelle fully understands her sister and can comprehend that these flurry of negative words she throws at others serves as a defense mechanism more than anything else. Chantelle has the ability to allow Pansy to show a vulnerability that the latter refuses to display for anyone else, which includes her husband and son. Having Michelle Austin pair with Marianne Jean-Baptiste was like a match made in heaven, which allows for the truly emotional moments this film has to offer to shine.
It feels criminal to say but Hard Truths is the first Mike Leigh film I have ever watched and it became quite evident why the man has such a positive reputation. The way he dissects this character of Pansy to make her equally appalling to watch through her actions but yet so vulnerable really is quite the strike of genius in crafting this story. He, of course, has worked with Jean-Baptiste and Austin in previous works and it only further elevates my appetite to right my wrongs and appreciate his other works and the way he can craft a strong feature film.
Quite the story to take in and powerful in more than one way, Hard Truths allows us not only to go on this emotional journey with this prickly central character, but allows me to begin my journey in watching Mike Leigh’s films. It delivers in making audience members feel the sadness, dread, and anguish this story seeks to evoke and allows Marianne Jean-Baptiste to put on an absolute haymaker of a performance. All of the other cast members do their parts as well as serving as the fodder or foil for Pansy but everything leads back to our central character, who may be hard to love but certainly gained my appreciation.
Films with Josh 
