Hard Truths (2024) Dir: Mike Leigh

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I had my eye on this film for a little while before I watched it, mainly because it was both written and directed by renowned British independent filmmaker Mike Leigh, who I studied some of the work of during my A Levels. As such, I was keenly aware of the man's aptitude when it came to creating hard-hitting, well-made, independent, British social realism, which only encouraged me to watch this; his latest feature film.

The film had a fairly basic approach to its filmmaking, but in that simplicity was a sure-handedness that one can easily attribute to a man of Leigh's prestige. I should point out too, that there were some quietly stunning shots dotted about in this film, including a really nice pair that mirrored one another in quite satisfying fashion, particularly because they virtually book-ended the film.

Story-wise, this was more of a character study than a conventional narrative. It followed two sisters; one whose life and mind are in constant turmoil, and one whose life is starkly more joyful and peaceful. I thought it was dome fairly well, for the most part, although it did drag a little. Furthermore, the dialogue was very on the nose, but the delivery from the actors elevated it to something far more effective and meaningful. I thought some of the silences were very profound, and allowed the audience to really digest some of the interactions they had just seen.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste's performance was incredible - the anger, the conflict, and the grief that she portrayed was so fiery and aggressive, but maintained a core of vulnerability that was absolutely fascinating. The audience could infer so much emotion from her performance, not only in terms of what she did show, but what she kept back as well. This was a classic example of character acting at its very best.

Michele Austin turns in a very respectable performance in her own right, and was a tremendous emotional foil to her on-screen sister. I would have enjoyed a couple more scenes with them interacting, but the ones they did have were at least very good. Credit too belongs to David Webber and Tuwaine Barrett who provide two different but compelling portrayals of emotionally stunted men in the life of the protagonist. Other supporting actors worth mentioning, at least briefly, were; Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, and Jonathon Livingstone.

Overall, I thought this was a solid, but not perfect, character study, which highlighted mental health in the British working class fairly effectively, but perhaps not quite as effectively as I was hoping. I did admire the acting from just about everyone quite a lot - I thought everyone involved on-screen elevated the film in their own way, especially Jean-Baptiste, who delivered an incredible leading performance in a very challenging role. With better dialogue, this could have been a modern classic.