Hard Truths Is Infinite Kindness in Movie Form

As a mental health advocate who has spent years working with individuals grappling with similar struggles as Pansy, I must say that Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s portrayal of this character is nothing short of breathtaking. Her ability to convey the complexities and nuances of a person living with depression in such an authentic manner is truly commendable.

Experiencing a peculiar feeling, one might find themselves unexpectedly loving a movie that leaves you squirming for most of its duration. In Mike Leigh’s work, Hard Truths, Marianne Jean-Baptiste portrays a woman who is at odds with the world and herself. She seems to hum with hostility: she frequently clashes with shop clerks, her husband has grown distant due to her abrasive nature, and their adult son retreats into his room to watch airplane videos, finding solace only in long walks to escape his mother’s turbulent aura. You might wonder why you should be invested in this woman’s narrative. For a large part of the film, you may even wish to distance yourself from her. I found myself yearning for such separation as well.

In a remarkable fashion, Mike Leigh manages to pull off an enchanting cinematic trick. If you’ve watched any of his renowned films such as Mr. Turner, his 2014 portrayal of the complex Romantic painter J.M.W. Turner, or Life Is Sweet from 1990, a gracefully quirky comedy, or even Secrets & Lies in 1996, a profound family-reconnection drama featuring Jean-Baptiste, you won’t be shocked to see him succeed, but you’ll struggle to grasp the secret behind his methods. Despite the common thread of deep emotional empathy that runs through all his films, it’s remarkable that no two of them are ever identical. Each character he and his actors create is a distinct and captivating oddball, leading us to feel both frustrated and drawn closer by their quirks. I recall, from years ago, watching his 1976 TV play Nuts in May, which starred frequent collaborator Alison Steadman as half of a quarrelsome married couple trying to live off the land, being so frustrated by its sharp yet astute humor that I felt compelled to escape. Yet, this experience has stayed with me. Leigh’s films serve as a means to prepare us for our daily interactions, both the best and worst moments, when we find ourselves dealing with people whose behavior is so challenging, unpleasant, or even bizarrely charming that we struggle to respond. Leigh has walked this path before; he’s already lit the way forward.

Despite being unique, Pansy, a Caribbean-British woman portrayed by Jean-Baptiste in the novel “Hard Truths“, exhibits peculiar traits. Upon waking in a dimly lit room, she seems irritated by her surroundings; the sunlight filtering through the curtains and the cooing pigeons are met with hostility, setting the tone for her numerous complaints. Her husband Curtley (David Webber) has departed for work before she awakes. As Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), their son, attempts to slip out for a walk, Pansy barks orders at him to make tea, but not to fill the kettle to the brim as it’s wasteful. Upon Curtley’s return from work, she turns down his greeting and criticizes him for tracking dirt into their immaculate house with his shoes on. This is just a glimpse of Pansy’s endless list of complaints: A banana peel left by Moses on the counter prompts a lecture about his laziness. During dinner, she rants about cheerful charity workers outside supermarkets, dogs in jackets, and the absurdity of a baby wearing clothes with pockets: “What’s a baby got pockets for? What’s it going to keep in its pocket, a knife?

Gradually, using delicate strokes, Leigh paints snippets of Pansy’s past. Her sister, Chantelle (portrayed brilliantly by Michele Austin), is a hairdresser and mother of two adult daughters, always radiating warmth like sunflowers. Their mother has been gone for five years, and it appears that Pansy struggles to cope with her loss, but this isn’t the only issue she faces. She frequently complains about feeling unwell: she battles constant headaches, exhaustion, numerous aches, and pains. Could these symptoms be psychosomatic, manifestations of her unhappy mind? Or have her prolonged misery led to genuine health problems? Both scenarios seem equally possible. Leigh understands that we don’t necessarily need to know the ‘whys.’

The focus of his fascination is the “why,” and in an extraordinary portrayal, Jean-Baptiste accompanies him on this journey, shedding light on the intricate puzzle that is Pansy’s character. It’s not difficult, considering what many have learned about depression, to speculate about Pansy’s struggles. However, it’s important to remember that she is a person, not a diagnosis: this is the message Jean-Baptiste conveys with poignant precision. For instance, Pansy displays an acute perception that is rarely found in pleasant individuals. She might have been a gifted writer or comedian if only her anger could be tempered slightly. Chantelle appears to be incredibly patient with her sister, but even she loses her composure occasionally. As they lay flowers at their mother’s grave—Pansy refuses to touch the bouquets Chantelle has brought, instead spending the entire time berating her sister about various topics—Chantelle eventually loses control. “Why can’t you enjoy life?” she snaps, mirroring something their mother had once said to Pansy. “I don’t know!” Pansy retorts, and in this moment, her face transforms into that of a warrior ready for battle. This is where we see the desolation of Pansy’s heart: it’s a garden she seems to have forgotten how to cultivate, if she ever knew how. Somehow, Leigh and Jean-Baptiste lead us, too, to an irrevocable point. We reach out to Pansy instead of shrinking away, even as we might question why we’re not retreating.

The enchantment of Leigh’s work is not the ominous kind, but a soft, empathetic magic that stirs feelings we sometimes resist. In Hard Truths, Leigh’s frequent collaborator, the renowned cinematographer Dick Pope, who passed away in October, masterfully showcases his skills. While good cinematography is often associated with capturing breathtaking landscapes or vibrant hues, Pope’s work in Hard Truths transcends this: each frame is crisp, succinct, meticulously composed, yet it harbors a profound emotional intensity that the camera seems to amplify. The subtle, trembling threads of life that Pope captures are like cosmic energy, his final gift to us. Through his lens, we glimpse Leigh’s vision and see characters like Chantelle reaching out to her sister across an unbridgeable gap, Curtley growing increasingly disillusioned with his wife, Moses attempting to please his critical mother, but most poignantly, Pansy. When we encounter Pansy in our own world, Leigh has already introduced us, not as a courtesy, but out of boundless compassion.

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2024-12-06 23:07

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