Mike Leigh returns after six years since his misfire, Peterloo, to his more familiar improvised comedy-drama style, reminiscent of Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky. In his typical approach, much of the work goes into character-building and setting up situations, with the actors then ‘improvising’ dialogue and reactions. While this method often results in great performances, it can sometimes feel less polished and lose focus, more effective at establishing the setup than delivering on it. This is the case with Hard Truths.
The film centers on Pansy, a woman perpetually angry at the world who picks fights with everyone and everything around her. She’s the type of person who can’t let the smallest thing go—she has to point it out, yell about it, and create a scene. The movie explores how this behavior affects her family, how someone reaches this level of unpleasantness, and how the character feels about herself—questions the film mostly succeeds in answering.
Hard Truths is strongest in its first half, where it leans heavily into comedy, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste is on fire. The film offers at least five laugh-out-loud moments, as Pansy gets into confrontations with supermarket attendants, store clerks, dentists, and her own family. The most memorable scenes are when others push back, like in the supermarket queue or the parking lot. These moments showcase Jean-Baptiste’s comedic timing and ability to keep her character fresh, adjusting her tone depending on who she’s sparring with.
However, as the film shifts from comedy to drama, the limitations of the improvisational approach become more apparent. While the interactions with her sister Chantal (played by Michele Austin) are good, and the cemetery scene is touching, the emotional depth feels like it could be more fully realized. The pacing slows, especially in scenes involving her husband, where the film seems to suggest more than it actually conveys. I haven’t seen all of Leigh’s films, but Hard Truths is perhaps the most affected by the approach. The cinematography is uninspired, and the editing is basic. Some characters, like Chantal’s daughters, seem to drop in and out of the story randomly. Certain scenes, such as a confrontation between Chantal and her daughter about Pansy’s selfishness, fall flat. Even Pansy’s son feels like he’s just there without much impact
The biggest issue, though, is the payoff (or often lack of payoff) in the conflicts the film raises—especially in the main hard truth regarding Pansy’s marriage. Despite these flaws, Marianne Jean-Baptiste remains a constant source of energy. If anyone ever decides to remake A Christmas Carol, she would be the perfect Scrooge.