Hard Truths

Returning with his 23rd film, director Mike Leigh reunites with Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets & Lies) to craft a challenging yet compassionate exploration of modern family life in London. This latest work is full of humour-piercing insights, focusing on the dynamics within an extended family.

At the centre is Pansy (Jean-Baptiste), a hypersensitive woman quick to take offense and prone to outbursts. She relentlessly criticises her husband Curtley (David Webber) and their adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), to the point where they no longer bother to argue. Pansy picks fights with strangers and enumerates the world’s flaws to anyone who will listen, particularly her cheerful sister Chantal (Michele Austin), who may be the only one still capable of showing her empathy.

As the film reveals Pansy’s pain and the impact it has on her family, it explores whether they will reach a breaking point. Leigh’s trademark humour and attention to detail infuse each scene with tenderness, offering a profound understanding of these complex characters and why even the most difficult among them deserves compassion.