Hard Truths

Front Row at the Movies by Shirrel Rhoades

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You may remember, back in 1996 director/screenwriter Mike Leigh made a film called “Secrets & Lies.” Roger Ebert gave it four out of four stars. Leigh received Oscar nods for Best Directing and Best Screenplay.

But there’s more than that.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste gained international acclaim for her role in that film, receiving both Golden Globes and Academy Award nominations as Best Supporting Actress. That made her the first black British actress to be nominated for an Academy Award.

She had worked with Leigh earlier in a stage production of “It’s a Great Big Shame.”

After moving to America, she has appeared in a number of films (“Spy Game,” “Takers,” etc.) and television series (“Without a Trace,” “Training Day,” etc.).

Now, Mike Leigh has tapped Jean-Baptiste again, this time to star in “Hard Truths,” his “ongoing exploration of the contemporary world with a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.”

Doubling down, Leigh added Michelle Austin to the cast. She had co-starred with Jean-Baptiste in “Secrets & Lies.”

Looks like he’s hoping to reignite the magic that made “Secrets & Lies” a hit.

And arguably, he’s been successful.

So far, Marianne Jean-Baptiste has won more than a dozen Best Actress awards for “Hard Truths” – including awards by British Independent Films, National Society of Film Critics, New York Film Critics Circle, New York Film Critics Online, Greater Western New York Film Critics, Boston Online Film Critics, Chicago Film Critics Association, Denver Film Festival, San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, San Diego Film Critics Society, Toronto Film Critics Association, African-American Film Critics Association, IndieWire Film Critics Poll, and the Florida Film Critics Circle. And she has received many more nominations as Best Actress.

The National Society of Film Critics tapped Michelle Austin as Best Supporting Actress.

And the National Board of Review recognized Mike Leigh for Best Screenplay. The Board of Review also picked “Hard Truths” as one of this year’s Top Ten Independent Films.

Not bad for a reunion.

In this film, we meet Pansy (Jean-Baptiste), a woman in a constant state of rage at pretty much everything. This is not a case of just having a bad day. Her whole family is miserable. Her husband and son hardly speak, barely make eye contact. Predictably, the more time Pansy spends with her family, the more irritated she becomes. Nobody is happy.

As one moviegoer puts it, “This is a depressing character piece where certain things in our past are left unresolved, and the unspoken hurt still picks away at us. Mental health issues are not just sadness and quietness but anger as well.”

A downer? Yes and no. There are comedic moments.

The subject matter offers – as the title suggests – Hard Truths. But the writing and acting makes it worthwhile.

As a quote from the film tells us: “”I don’t understand you, but I love you.” You may feel the same way about this film.

Email Shirrel: srhoades@aol.com

Ratings & Comments

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