Marianne Jean-Baptiste is masterful in Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths

Hard Truths, Mike Leigh’s latest offering, is a simultaneously funny and devastating venture into the life of a woman called Pansy played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste. She is suffering from a mental illness so profound it has rendered her fearful and exhausted as she lashes out at everyone around her. 

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The film meditates on human emotions and relationships as we witness Pansy terrorise her closest family members, and strangers alike. In the first act of the film it is easy to laugh at the absurdity, but as the film bears on we realise these outbursts although often witty are rooted in a deep psychological pain.

Painfully familiar

She spends her time in her lovely, albeit sterile London home, living with her husband and adult son. Their interactions are dominated by her, if she isn’t berating them directly she is on a long tirade against something innocuous. This dynamic has rendered her husband and son silent witnesses within the home, this dysfunctional nuclear family is painfully familiar. I found myself wishing for any one of them to break from this tedium and to confront Pansy on her behaviour, and urge her to see a professional. 

However, I suspect we the audience have arrived at the story entirely too late, and any intervention would have already taken place. We can only imagine the level of scorn this discussion would have been met with, and thus the family has been condemned to this life of isolation. 

Joyous

Standing in contrast to Pansy’s fractured family unit is that of her sister Chantelle, she is the crux of her community not only as a single mother to two bright and engaging adult daughters but also as a hairstylist at a local salon. Her world is joyous, and supportive, filled with conversation, laughter and dance. Although all the roles are played wonderfully, in contrast to such an injured family dynamic this world feels unrealistic, the level of joy and support which emanates from the daughters in particular feels unlikely in the world of Hard Truths.

Contrasting families

It’s understandable why Leigh introduces a contrasting family, offering a brief respite from Pansy’s relentless misery. However, even seemingly perfect families have their flaws, and the absence of any challenges within this unit renders it somewhat unconvincing. This is unfortunate, as the film excels in so many other aspects.

Masterful

The stand-out success of this film for me is Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s performance. A previous collaborator of Mike Leigh, she made her film debut in his 1996 film Secrets and Lies. Here she is masterful, the dialogue she performs is detestable yet she manages to demand empathy from the audience with her simultaneously rage filled and delicate performance. Her character is indignant and performed by a lesser actor I may have felt differently but performed by Jean-Baptiste I ached for an emotional breakthrough which never arrived.

The hard truth is this character cannot be saved. There is no catharsis, no tidy resolution, only the understanding that life continues. I’m certain these characters will face a complex array of highs and lows far richer and more nuanced than any climactic ending could provide. 

Katie saw Hard Truths at the Belfast Film Festival