Mike Leigh is one of the UK’s most revered and influential film-makers. His style allows his cast to work on their characters in a more free-forming manner where the script comes out of improvisation. In recent years, he has focused on historical events, like Peterloo and Mr Turner, but he has returned to the storytelling that made him famous: dramas about people. Movies like Secret and Lies, Naked and Happy-Go-Lucky have brought him critical success for their handling of everyday subjects; now we have Hard Truths, a tale of modern Britain coping with issues like mental health, which is filled with outstanding performances, and is his best work in years.

Pansy is a woman who is angry with everything. She lives with her husband, Curtley, with whom she is furious about how little he will stand up and use his voice, and her son, Moses, whom she puts down for being lazy and ineffectual. She is even angry with her hairdressing sister, Chantelle, even when she is the complete opposite of her. The issue is that Pansy is suffering, and the only way she can release that pain is to fight against the world.

It might sound like a depressing film, but it does visit some very dark places. Yet, Leigh and his cast have created normality in a post-lockdown world, with moments of humour injected through Pansy’s anger. She delivers some hilarious lines when she is ranting at her family or even those in a supermarket queue. She is a powder keg ready to explode, but while we watch this woman who seems filled with hate, we realise that there is sadness within her.

Leigh captures a family in a snapshot, dealing with a woman who doesn’t have control of herself. She can find any reason to attack. When a sales assistant comes to help her find a new sofa, Pansy accuses her of being rude and disrespectful and raises other irrational issues. Pansy cannot control it, but you know she struggles with life. Her sister, on the other hand, surrounded by her daughters, lives in a flat with plants and colour on her balcony and is a ball of happiness. However, the ritual of visiting their mother’s grave on Mother’s Day means the family must get together. At this moment, we can see the struggles of Pansy, her husband, and her son.

Leigh’s film is very free-flowing in style. Never giving us a story but more moments in these people’s lives. Every moment we see Pansy on the attack, and she gets really nasty, we find ourselves sympathising with her. She is a woman on the edge who has struggled through lockdown. We know she even hates herself for how she is, making for a compelling view that we don’t mind there is no real story. It also doesn’t give us a conclusion, and we are okay with that because, in life, it keeps going.

As with all of Leigh’s films, the performances bring a sense of realism to the film. Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who was so good in Leigh’s Secrets and Lies, is exceptional here. As Pansy, she is the most hateful person to grace Leigh’s films, even more than David Thewlis’s Johnny in Naked. Yet, she still manages to deliver empathy underneath the venom. It is a powerful performance that gets under your skin. To counterbalance this, Michele Austin, as Chantelle, is excellent; with her calmness and good spirit, you can see in her eyes that she has tried to help her sister, but nothing is good enough. It’s a beautifully controlled performance. David Webber, as Curtley, the put-upon husband, brings an air of quiet contemplation. Especially in the final act, he is a man who has put up with so much and yet refuses to leave. The final scenes are heartbreaking.

Hard Truths is definitely up there with Leigh’s best, and it is great to see him returning to modern life. There has been criticism about a white director making a predominately black story, yet it isn’t that. It’s a story about those who suffer, whether it be mental health issues or life after Covid. It’s a story about people, and there is no better to tell that story than Mike Leigh.

4 out of 5

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophie Brown, Jonathan Livingstone, Jo Martin, Samantha Spiro

Written by Mike Leigh

Running Time: 97 mins

Cert: 12A

Release date: 31st January 2025