Hard Truths

Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets and Lies) reunites with veteran British director Mike Leigh for this bold, heartbreaking and sometimes hilarious character study set in two middle-class Black households in London.

She plays Pansy, a woman so full of rage that every interaction she has devolves into lashing out, whether at her utterly cowed husband and son, or random strangers who have the temerity to address her. In contrast, her younger sister Chantelle lives with her two vivacious daughters and plies a successful trade as a hairdresser, putting clients at their ease all day long. Yet beneath Pansy’s abrasive exterior are hints of a more fragile psyche, one motivated by fear and damaged by repressed pain.

“Leigh’s strategy of taking us into his characters’ world without prelude or explanation, letting the revelations and backstory waft out, help make his films feel authentic.” ~Caryn James, BBC

“You believe this woman exists. And Leigh and Jean-Baptiste ensure she will haunt you.” ~Gregory Ellwood, The Playlist

“A horribly sad and sometimes hilariously funny portrait of the most unpleasant sourpuss woman in the history of cinema.” ~John Waters (Film Director)