I was one of the few who felt that Leigh's films Mr. Turner and Peterloo represented the best in his career in cinema. He finally had a high budget and his artistic craft met them perfectly. Hard Truths is a step back from this scale back into the social dramas he used to make, although this feels totally new for him at the same time. More it resembles All or Nothing in its approach, but is darker.
Pansy, a woman imprisoned by her own anger, trauma, and resentment, lashes out at those who love her-her husband, son, and especially her patient sister, Chantelle (played with grace by Michele Austin). We are immersed in Pansy's bleak world, where even well-meaning gestures from her family are met with fury and frustration.
The film's strength lies in its uncompromising gaze on Pansy's internal struggle, making it at times difficult to watch as her rage isolates her from the people who care most. His style, crossing social realism with formalism, risks alienating people with answers either too easy or not easy enough, but this to me is the greatness of his films. The film's setting within London's Black Caribbean community adds a unique layer, reflecting the emotional and external forces that shape Pansy's fractured relationships. You have to be sort of familiar with his films or risk being confused. Like a great author but a director, he has his own universe of ideas, moments, and characterizations, that you get immersed in.
