Hard Truths

Pansy is just like my mom for half the movie. Minus the wealthy house, the OCD and the crippling fear of anything nature, plus she only abuses immediate family, but is always super friendly outside the house. She toned it down in later years, but yeah, always unhappy with you, always criticizing and insulting you. Never a good word. Irritable at the drop of a hat. So this felt kind of familiar, but also very uncomfortable. Of course this woman's behaviour is extreme, and I don't blame anybody around her for "hating" her. I kept waiting for some big revelation, some deep-seated trauma, some tragic event in her past, severe abuse, something like that. She had a tough childhood, but nothing that would explain this. She might have some form of depression, but I haven't heard of this type of manifestation. Depression doesn't make you this mean, does it?

Mike Leigh's movies end in some sort of revelation about the main character or we just naturally empathize with them, despite their flaws. This wasn't the case here at all, and I kept waiting for it. Nothing excuses Pansy's attitude in the end, and I could see parts of myself in Moses and Curtley. A person like this makes you act like that.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is undoubtably an immensely talented actress. But I do not get the point of this movie, unless it's meant to be a character study of a deeply unpleasant person and the hurt she causes everyone around her, in which case well done. The positives here are her sister Chantelle, an absolutely lovely woman and her two daughters. I wish the movie was about them really, but unfortunately it's not.

This film incisively and truthfully illustrates the trials and tribulations of mental illness, in this case ostensibly depression, and how it affects the loved ones of those afflicted. It is heartfelt, at times hilarious, and thought-provoking.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy, a fitting name as she gives a vivid flowery performance, like the real-life eponymous flower, is excellent here at portraying a deeply troubled woman teetering on the brink of madness, hanging on by a thread. What could have easily fell into a caricature performance is the exact opposite: she feels so real, raw, and visceral, riding the line between sanity and insanity. She is at war with the world: the most normal petty inconveniences cause her to explode into hysterics, rage, and deep sadness; her reactions are sometimes so severe to the point she's at times unable to merely leave her bed. Michele Austin is great, playing Chantelle, the foil and sister to the lead. Where Pansy seems to be unhappy and unsuccessful, Chantelle is the opposite. Despite their differences, they support one another. And it's their sisterhood and camaraderie that functions as the film's anchor and centerpiece. The implication of their sisterhood is to drive home the point that family is key in life, a balm for the spirit. An interesting thing happens as the film furthers: the more time Pansy spends with her family, the more irritated she becomes, but it's also the more open she becomes about her feelings; it's as though her family simultaneously causes her to not only face her issues head-on, but face the reality that she does indeed have a good support network, but often fails to take advantage of it. This brings to the film an interesting dynamic. It's in these scenes with her family, particularly with her sister, that she finally lets down her tough, gruff exterior to betray a soft, mushy interior.

The film, despite at its core being a darker and moving subject matter, has many moments of welcome levity and playfulness. The comedy and gravitas meld flawlessly to make for both touching and funny viewing. The only issue this film has is that the pacing unfortunately drags rather often. As there is no real, significant plot here, besides following a middle-aged woman struggling mentally and existentially, the film feels very slice-of-life; the scenes unfurl with almost no change between when we first start the film to when we finish it. This is compounded by the dense dialogue and the secondary stories not really adding up to much ultimately, albeit the supporting characters are all good. But that is likely the conceit here: it ought to be about illustrating a snapshot of this character. Despite recognizing her issues, Pansy very well may never get better and things likely will always look this way, unfortunately similar to how life itself is for many with mental illness.

Overall, this is a great film. It's poignant, with a powerhouse central performance, unexpectedly and serendipitously humorous and diverting, and it provides a verisimilar portrait of dealing with mental illness.

There's a crisis in the family. Marianne Jean-Baptiste is ripping into everyone: husband David Webber for his choice in business partners, son Tuwaine Barrett for being twenty-two and still eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, sister Michele Austin for wanting to know if she's going to be with her on Mother's Day when she goes to their mother's grave, sales clerks, doctors, dentists, the fox that's gotten in the back yard, birds. And she's scared and just wants to sleep.

By the end of this movie, I was convinced she had brain cancer that was depressing her past all bearing. But this is Mike Leigh's first movie in half a dozen years. That means you know you are going to get great performances; and Miss Jean-Baptiste certainly gives one here, not caring if anyone likes her. Most of the rest of the cast is reduced to silence, but Miss Austin keeps sweetly not taking no for an answer until she gets some answers. And those answers are as unhappy as the rest of the performance.

I can't recommend this movie to anyone who wants a story with a sense of closure one or another. But if you want to watch a human being in honest pain for an hour and a half, here's your chance.

Was this a good film? Yes. Did I like it? I'm not quite sure 'like' is the right word. There are parts which are comedic, where you feel like you shouldn't be laughing but can't help it because of the outrageous things that our protagonist Pansy spits out. But as the film goes on it becomes quite sad, like damn this is their everyday life and it's exhausting! It becomes exhausting for us too as viewers as we follow Pansy's day-to-day and witness conflict after conflict in every interaction she has. This is reinforced by the slow pace and lingering shots as we experience the characters' worlds in such painful detail. The acting is so good that makes it feel so real, almost as if I was watching a fly-on-the-wall documentary. Overall worth the watch. A reminder that you never know what is going on in others' lives..

This isn't your typical storytelling-it doesn't follow a structured beginning, middle, and end. Instead, it's a character study of an isolated woman, played by the brilliant Marianne Jean-Baptiste, as it unpacks her relationships with her family and society. The contrast between her and her sister-and by extension, her entire family-is just fascinating to watch. The film tries to understand what drives someone to become so scared, angry, exhausted, and disillusioned with the world. I can't recall many films that visualize the impact of perspective on a person's life as masterfully as this one. So if you're expecting a dramatic beginning or a mind-blowing finale, forget it. This film is just the middle-but it's one hell of a middle, filled with complex characters, sharp humor, and moments of deep sadness. Just give yourself over to the experience and enjoy the ride.

While watching, I kept wondering: Why don't we see more films with rich, engaging conversations anymore? Dialogue in modern movies often feels like pure exposition-just people exchanging information. But here, every scene, whether packed with dialogue or completely silent, is alive with meaning. The visual storytelling is just as strong as the verbal. The cast is phenomenal, the cinematography is steady and intentional, and the editing is precise. There's so much raw emotion in every moment-love, fear, anger, sadness, joy, and everything in between. And one thing I hadn't felt in a long time while watching a movie? Genuine excitement about how a simple human interaction would unfold. There's this constant sense of anticipation because every conversation feels unpredictable.

Anyway, I had an absolute blast watching this. Not a single scene feels unnecessary or dull, even though the shots are deceptively simple. The music complements the tone perfectly, and the production as a whole is working at its peak. The only frustrating thing? Hearing that Mike Leigh is struggling to get his films made these days. He's a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, and whether you love or hate his work, you have to appreciate his unique vision. He tells the stories others don't. He cares about characters that most filmmakers overlook. Let the man cook. Give him all the funding he wants. Don't leave us hanging.