“You can’t buy time. You can’t sell it either”

There are many reasons to adore the work of Mike Leigh. His meticulous attention to detail when it comes to developing his characters, his astonishing ability to capture every aspect of everyday life (which is often the reason he is considered a founding member of an entire cinematic movement), and his tendency to oscillate between tone and style in a way that is both extremely daring and profoundly beautiful. Yet, the one quality that perhaps stands out is his skill at evoking the human condition with grace and elegance, but also never veering away from the realities of life. It has been several years since we have gotten a new film helmed by the master of the medium, primarily due to the struggles he has had getting funding. However, he makes a triumphant return to the medium with Hard Truths, which also signals his first foray into the contemporary era in over a decade, with his two previous films being period pieces. The film follows Pansy, a middle-aged housewife living in working-class London, where she spends her days trying to stay as far from public view as possible due to both her personal psychological issues (none of which are named, but it’s clear she runs the gamut of disorders, her lack of willingness to actually get a diagnosis and the eventual treatment being embedded in the character) and her immense misanthropy, which manifests in cruel, borderline abusive behaviour directed at just about anyone who catches her at the wrong moment. Over the course of a few days, we observe Pansy as she navigates her life, which is shown to be quite a miserable existence in which even her own husband and son are forced to keep their distance – and it is only her sister who shows herself to be willing to engage with the thorny Pansy, and proves to be the sole person that can see beneath the harsh veneer. With Hard Truths, Leigh once again proves his incredible mastery of not only this medium but of the act of social commentary as a whole, elegantly crafting this engaging drama that is as heartbreaking as it is genuinely moving, telling a story that is layered with meaning and driven by firm attention to detail that keeps us consistently engaged in these simple but profound philosophical conversations.

While the scope of his films has shifted over time, Leigh is the rare kind of filmmaker who has achieved both longevity and consistency – many of his contemporaries either undergo shifts in their careers where they explore different subjects that result in various eras, or they rest on their laurels to the point where their later work is considered inferior to the films they produced at their peak. Leigh has been working for over half a century, but he still approaches his art with the same techniques, both in terms of the stories he tells and the way they manifest on screen. As one of the pioneers of the kitchen-sink realism movement, Leigh has always had a sincere interest in exploring the lives of ordinary people, and while his sojourns into the past in films like Topsy-Turvy and Mr Turner are exceptional, it’s his more simple, contemporary works that carry the most meaning. Hard Truths is a return to this style, and we find the director weaving in many complex ideas, using the main character as a figurehead for a number of themes that he finds valuable enough to explore in the form of this film. He has always viewed London, whether past or present, as the epicentre of culture – not in the sense that it is somehow superior, but rather that it is a melting-pot of countless ethnicities and nationalities, and whether immigrant or native, everyone has a story, of which this film tells only a couple. There has always been an argument made that Leigh is the definitive London filmmaker, which is made even more persuasive when we notice how all of his greatest works are set in the capital, and use the city as a character of its own. Hard Truths is the director’s first film that centres on non-white characters, with the protagonist and her sister being the daughter of a Jamaican immigrant, but who have been raised in the United Kingdom, both countries being integral to their identities. Leigh acknowledges that he isn’t in a position to make a film that is about cultural specificity, but rather is a keen observer of society, drawing us into this genuinely moving exploration of a community that forms a large part of the city’s ethnic landscape, becoming yet another earnest depiction of contemporary life in one of Europe’s most bustling cities.

However, as wonderful as the insights into the life of immigrants and their children may be, Hard Truths is not striving to be a definitive statement on any of these ideas and is instead a much smaller and more intimate production that looks at deeper themes, primarily those relating to the main character and her continued efforts to make sense of the world that surrounds her. Pansy is a complex woman, and Leigh uses her to explore many deeper themes that extend far beyond just cultural commentary. As is the case with all of his films, the director chooses a few primary themes as the foundation for this story – and while much of it is left slightly ambiguous, it is clear that this film is focused on the feelings of isolation and loneliness, which is considered a social epidemic, albeit one that tends to be overlooked, with psychological issues, rarely begin given the attention they deserve. From Leigh’s perspective, loneliness doesn’t necessarily always equate to solitude – we see characters in his films that manage to lead solitary lives but yet remain fulfilled and joyful, whereas others may be surrounded by friends and family, but feel a crippling isolation that can drive them to the point of losing their sanity. It’s a matter of perspective and how willing these people are to engage with the outside world that makes the most profound difference, and how they choose to embrace the inevitable obstacles that the majority of people have to face that can determine how the world will react. Hard Truths centres around a character who has a loving husband and a son who adores her – but you would not be able to tell based on how they have effectively isolated themselves from her, solely due to her tendency towards harsh, callous comments that rarely have good intentions or are done for their wellbeing, and rather exist as a way for her to filter out her own inner self-loathing and insecurity, since she is too weak-willed to confront her personal demons. It’s a tricky subject to explore, but mental health is a theme that persists throughout this film, which follows Pansy as she slowly descends further into a state of instability and anguish, which is only worsened by her own behaviours that pushes everyone around her away, and which just manifests in further anger and alienation, leading to a vicious cycle that is seemingly interminable. Leigh has touched on issues of mental health on a few occasions, and Hard Truths is a natural progression of films like All or Nothing or Another Year in how it takes a more subtle but not any less meaningful glimpse into the efforts of a complex protagonist to make sense of the world around her, not realizing that she cannot expect her circumstances to change if she isn’t willing to make the effort herself.

There is something to be said about a director who almost always brings out the very best in his actors. So many incredible performers delivered their greatest work under Leigh’s direction, and this film is no exception. I could write for hours and exhaust my entire vocabulary, and I still wouldn’t be able to find the appropriate words to describe the performance given by Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Hard Truths, which is simply beyond towering in absolutely every conceivable way. She already delivered a stellar performance in Secrets & Lies (which was also her breakthrough as an actor), and while it may have taken over a quarter of a century for her to reunite with Leigh, their second collaboration is even more incredible, primarily because they’re both wholeheartedly committed to telling this story through taking several risks in defining this character. Jean-Baptiste is someone who implicitly understands Leigh’s more unorthodox methods of writing, and we find that she enters this film as a fully realised character – she is not merely saying lines that were written by someone else, but rather working closely with the director to create a character of which she is just as much the author. There is such depth to this performance, and she sets the screen ablaze with her portrayal of a woman who has allowed the small frustrations of her working-class life fester, going from mildly unamused to an outright hateful, cruel woman who has very little problem dismissing absolutely anyone who goes against her idealistic view of the world, or represents the life she wishes she had, but has failed to achieve based on her circumstances, which is truly the root of her apoplectic rage. Pansy is a woman who is angry at the world for not giving her a better set of circumstances, and in the hands of any other actor, she would be a despicable individual without any redemption. Jean-Baptiste defies all expectations based on how the character was defined and manages to elicit sympathy, not in the sense that her actions are justified (we are often taken aback by the depth of her viciousness), but rather that we begin to feel pity for her. Much of this comes when we encounter the character of her sister Chantelle, who helps us understand Pansy and why she behaves with such unkindness. Michele Austin brings a distinct joie de vivre to the film, being the perfect contrast to Jean-Baptiste’s ruthless protagonist, with the relationship between the two being the emotional core of the film, and something both actors explore exceptionally well.

Hard Truths is an exceptional return to the contemporary era for Leigh, since not only does the story itself reflect modern life in a way that even the most gifted of younger filmmakers struggle to capture, but the essence of how he weaves these ideas together is incredible. This film features so many distinct qualities of the director’s style – it’s a simple, unfurnished production that doesn’t seem to be interested in the spectacle but rather prioritizes authenticity over anything else. There is a sense of voyeurism embedded in his work, particularly in how we are positioned as passive observers of the lives of ordinary people, following their day-to-day routines. Social realism has rarely been more effective than under Leigh’s direction, particularly since he doesn’t always seem compelled to craft stories that go in a particular direction, and instead are more than sufficient in their efforts to just be brief glimpses into the lives of these people. Hard Truths is an interesting case since you would assume that having such a flawed character at the centre would mean that there would be an active effort to have her learn some kind of a lesson, but Leigh resists the obvious and instead chooses to approach it from a more complex angle, showing Pansy as someone unstable and emotionally volatile, and rather than giving her either a happy ending where she comes to learn the error of her ways and make an effort to change the course of her life, or forcing her to face the consequences of what seems to be years of anger and cruelty towards others, the film leaves everything quite ambigious. Hard Truths contains perhaps the bleakest ending of a Leigh film since Naked over thirty years ago, made only more impactful by how vague and open-ended it was, which allows the viewer to ruminate on the themes of the film without having the satisfaction of knowing what the outcome of the narrative. Not many filmmakers could take such an approach without it being frustrating, but Leigh’s beautiful direction and impeccable writing carry it forward. It’s a simple and elegant social realist drama, and it avoids being too overwrought, instead choosing a more matter-of-fact mood, one that is much more raw and honest than many of the director’s works over the years, but one that leaves just as much of an impression.

An exceptional film that once again provides all the evidence we need that Leigh is as brilliant a filmmaker today as he was in his younger years (and certainly just as dynamic and willing to provoke both conversation and controversy where appropriate), Hard Truths is a masterful character study filled to the brim with emotions and complex social commentary, packaged together into a dynamic and daring drama that pushes boundaries and finds new ways to explore the human condition in vivid detail while never neglecting the emotional core that drives this narrative forward. The simplicity of this film is only made more effective but its overt elegance – it’s a striking social realist drama that effectively combines melancholy and humour, the latter being just as important as the more intense aspects of the film, since Leigh has always maintained that life is not purely joyful or tragic, but rather a blend of positive and negative moments, each one playing a vital role in developing us as individuals and setting us on our way towards the future. Leigh has always had a firm grasp on the cultural consciousness and has understood the pulse of society, regardless of the setting he chooses. More than anything else, the power of Hard Truths is best described with the quote that started this discussion – time is valuable, and as much as we allow our lives to be driven by consumerism and work, the most important currency is not the one we earn, but rather that which we are all given and spend differently. Each of these characters uses their time differently – Pansy chooses to simmer in anger and hatred, whereas Chantelle embraces life and makes the most of every moment. It’s only once we realize that time is finite that we can assess whether it was spent wisely or wasted, but it still can never be regained. There are so many complex ideas that drift through Hard Truths, making sense of every one of them is challenging, but it still indicates the incredible artistry on display throughout this film on the part of Leigh and his cast, all of whom come together to tell this provocative, complex story of contemporary life and the many obstacles we all face daily. Simultaneously harrowing and comforting in different ways, this film presents a stunning portrait of the human condition, handcrafted by an artist who understands it better than most, and whose work here simply proves that he is unmatched as far as compassionate, enthralling filmmaking that shows us a different side of familiar subjects.