Manchester
Hard Truths (12A)
★★★★ British Oscar-nominated director Mike Leigh is back on form in this gruelling tale. ~ The Times.
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From acclaimed filmmaker Mike Leigh, comes Hard Truths. Starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Michele Austin.
The Oscar-nominated Salford director returns with another well-observed drama that delicately traces the bonds that bind families together.
In Hard Truths, Leigh reunites with BAFTA award- winner Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Secrets & Lies), who delivers a performance so intimate in its details, it could almost be moments from a home movie.
Sisters Pansy and Chantal are chalk and cheese, but their close bond is the foundation that their extended family is built upon.
Lately, life has proven too much for Pansy, her anguish manifests in relentless criticism of the world, leaving her husband Curtley, son Moses, and Chantal walking on eggshells. Things come to a head over the course of a Mother’s Day weekend.
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★★★★★ In his stunning new drama, Mike Leigh portrays living, breathing, flawed but good people, with Marianne Jean-Baptiste starring, in what is sure to be one of the best performances of the year. ~ BBC.
★★★★★ A moving return to the domestic miseries of North London. ~ Irish Times.
★★★★ The story of two siblings with very different attitudes to life, it's a potent examination of not only sisterhood but also marriage and mental ill health. ~ Radio Times.
★★★★ It features a titanic performance from Jean-Baptiste, who reunites with Mike Leigh nearly three decades after his Oscar-nominated ‘Secrets & Lies’. ~ The Independent.
★★★★ A scorchingly funny drama of depression, rage – and love, anchored by Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s incendiary performance, this portrait of a woman broken by grief is biting and bleakly witty. ~ Th Telegraph.
★★★★ A sad and thoughtful portrait of a woman who’s her own worst enemy. ~ Time Out.
★★★★★ One of the most fascinating and rich characters in any film this century. ~ Little White Lies.
★★★★ Hard Truths is a deeply sober, sombre, compassionate drama about a black British family, with flashes of fun and happiness that are emollient if not exactly redemptive. ~ The Guardian.
★★★★ A gruelling but ultimately rewarding experience, this is Leigh at his most confrontational, devastating and humane, aided by the unadulterated power of Jean-Baptiste’s career-redefining performance. ~ Empire.
★★★★ Awards beckon. ~ Irish Independent.
★★★★ ~ the Scotsman.
