Hard Truths

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2:13

Hard Truths

1h 37m

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

98%

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47 Reviews

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Legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the contemporary world with a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since multiple Oscar-nominated Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easygoing younger sister, played by Michele Austin (Another Year), is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy's as their clashing temperaments -- brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. This expansive film from a master dramatist takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family.

Critics Consensus

Marianne Jean-Baptiste puts on a prickly masterclass in Hard Truths, another superb character study from writer-director Mike Leigh.

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Mike Leigh

Director

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Actor

Michele Austin

Actor

David Webber

Actor

Tuwaine Barrett

Actor

Ani Nelson

Actor

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Caroline Siede

Girl Culture (Substack)

While the largely plotless structure may prove frustrating for those looking for a more conventional narrative, the small-scale emotional nuances slowly add up to a masterclass in tonal control.

Rated: B+

Oct 22, 2024

Full Review

Ed Potton

Times (UK)

In an era when we are quick to admonish bad behaviour, it’s a reminder of the importance of asking why someone may be behaving badly.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 16, 2024

Full Review

Steve Pond

TheWrap

Spare and wrenching gem.

Oct 15, 2024

Full Review

Nadira Begum

Paste Magazine

With a heartbreaking lead performance from Jean-Baptiste at its center, Leigh has crafted one of the most sincere slice-of-life films to come out of British cinema in recent years.

Rated: 8.9/10

Nov 1, 2024

Full Review

Paula Farmer

culturevulture.net

Hard Truths proves that at 81-years-old, Leigh is still at the top of his game.

Oct 31, 2024

Full Review

Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

An especially gifted cast brings characters to vivid life without flinching. This is an unusually sharp film that digs deeply into its central character, a woman who is bursting with emotion simply because she doesn't want to face her truth.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 29, 2024

Full Review

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Hard Truths: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Legendary filmmaker Mike Leigh returns to the contemporary world with a fierce, compassionate, and often darkly humorous study of family and the thorny ties that bind us. Reunited with Leigh for the first time since multiple Oscar-nominated Secrets and Lies, the astonishing Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays Pansy, a woman wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades against her husband, son, and anyone who looks her way. Meanwhile, her easygoing younger sister, played by Michele Austin (Another Year), is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy's as their clashing temperaments -- brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. This expansive film from a master dramatist takes us into the intensities of kinship, duty, and the most enduring of human mysteries: that even through lifetimes of hurt and hardship, we still find ways to love those we call family.

Director: Mike Leigh
Producer: Georgina Lowe
Screenwriter: Mike Leigh, Mike Leigh
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Production Co: Thin Man Films, The Mediapro Studio, Film4
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 37m