Hard Truths, bitter endings
HARD TRUTHS directed by Mike Leigh (UK , 2024)
Mike Leigh specialises in bitter-sweet films so that just when you think you’re watching a comedy the story twists. You suddenly realise you’re witnessing something tragic instead. This is never more true than in his latest film, Hard Truths , which ends with more questions than answers and more bitterness than sweetness.
A lack of resolution is not usually a problem for me but in this case I found the conclusion overly harsh. I didn’t expect a happy ending but I did hope for a finale that was less desperate. Everyone will have a different take on this and this is borne out by the fact that the universal acclaim from critics on Metacritic is not matched by users. Many viewers have reacted negatively to the complex character of Pansy played so convincingly by Marianne Jean-Baptiste.
Pansy is a troubled soul who is angry, tired, scared and lonely all at once. This makes her a time bomb of rage and anxiety which explodes when she enters the ‘real’ world. Some of her anger is relatable such as her loathing for what she calls the “cheerful grinning people” who put on a happy face even when they are feeling miserable.
Other times her rants and outbursts just seem plain nasty. She specialises in personal attacks and body shaming in a way that is hard to feel sympathy for. For example, she verbally insults a young supermarket cashier in such an unpleasant manner that I empathised with the outrage of other customers. This, I’m sure is deliberate. Pansy is not meant to be likeable even though one senses she needs to be treated with compassion and patience. She is very good at not enjoying herself.
The precise cause of the pain that makes her act this way is not specified. The sterility of her home and scrupulous attention to cleanliness suggest she may have compulsive obsessive personality disorder. Alternatively, she might be bipolar or her mental sickness might be due to severe depression.
Although we are not privy to her complete background story, I’m sure that Jean-Baptiste went into the film knowing her full history. Mike Leigh works in a unique and organic way having the actors build their character in isolation before they know what the plot will be. Leigh encourages actors to think of all the small details that make a person tick or, in Pansy’s case, to auto-distruct. The result is characters that may not be likeable but are believable.
Pansy desperately needs love and hugs. She gets these only from her sister Chantelle (Michelle Austin). This relationship is the warm centre at the heart of the film. These two women play their parts with such conviction that the supporting male roles of Pansy’s husband and son become marginalised to the detriment of the story.
Husband Curtley (David Webber) is patient but so uncommunicative that he remains something of a mystery; son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) is more of a morose presence that a fully-formed person. This is a problem for the narrative because there are hints that the unhappiness of Pansy’s marriage is one of the main causes of her self-destructive behaviour.
Mike Leigh is now 81 years old and this is his last film with his long-serving cinematographer Dick Pope who died soon after it was completed. Because of his age, there must be a high probability that this will also Leigh’s last film. To end on a feel good note would have been out of character but some glimmer of light in the gloom would have been welcome.
