Hard Truths review by Bobby Blakey
People can be the most interesting focus in stories without all the glitz, glamour and CGI when handled well. The latest film Hard Truths brings Secrets and Lies director Mike Leigh back to the helm and stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michel Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, Jonathan Livingstone, and Samantha Spiro. Could this film offer more than just real-life issues, or will it just find too much wrong with the world?
Hard Truths follows Pansy, a woman tormented by anger and depression, hypersensitive to the slightest possible offence and ever ready to fly off the handle. She criticizes her husband and their adult son so relentlessly that neither bothers to argue with her. She picks fights with strangers and salesclerks and enumerates the world's countless flaws to anyone who will listen, especially her cheerful sister Chantal, who, despite their clashing temperaments, might be the only person still capable of sympathizing with her.
I found the trailer to be compelling and even funny, so I was interested to see where this story was going to take us. Once I embarked on this journey, I was surprised that it wasn’t the film I expected at all. There are some humorous elements that are just from day-to-day life and the over-the-top grumpiness of Jean-Baptiste character. Her performance is fantastic, but it’s wrapped in a character that is horribly unlikeable and made more frustrating thanks to the amount of people around her that cares for her.
The entire film is filled with great performances and a story that hinges on so much drama it is a mystery to why. Her anger for everything she encounters
and true irritation with every person around her makes you not only dislike her but baffle why anyone would even bother with her but wonder what more is there at the root of it all. There are numerous elements that come to light that make you feel for her and understand, but at the same time does not make her innocent. I found myself feeling worse about everyone she encounters, especially her husband and son who both seem to be such great people and truly love her even if she doesn’t deserve it.
As the film progresses you see a few cracks in the surface and looks to be getting to not only the root of it all, but also maybe a resolution. This is where the film failed for me. It has so many chances to make a final decision about their relationship or her own choices of happiness or otherwise, but they leave it kind of hanging and implied. The final scene is just sad, but where it might want us to finally care more about her, I still found myself only caring for the husband who is really the only one suffering here for no reason other than existing.
It’s the kind of film that screams with depth and brilliant performances but ultimately felt incomplete and unresolved. This just left me with a feeling of what was the point then and disappointed in the ending. Thankfully there is a great if not frustrating film throughout it, but one that just doesn’t take us anywhere, good or bad to feel satisfied.
Decide for yourself and check out Hard Truths when it hits Blu-ray on February 25th from Bleeker Street.