Movie Review by Sergio Martinez
Centred on the vicissitudes of a black family in England,
this film, directed by Mike Leigh, makes us reflect on the strength of the
bonds of affection that are generated there. This is even though Pansy
(Marianne Jean Baptiste) is a woman prone to quarrelling with everyone and for
any trifle. Curtley (David Webber), Pansy's husband, no longer reacts to his
insufferable wife's outbursts and limits himself to working and barely
exchanging words with his wife. In the case of their son, Moses (Tuwaine
Barrett), the mother would have reason to complain—at 22, the young man does
nothing but stay at home and “still eats peanut butter sandwiches,” as Pansy
says at one point.Marianne Jean Baptiste as Pansy,
a very difficult person to deal with
Her sister Chantelle (Michele
Austin) is a harmonizing factor
A very different personality is that of Chantelle (Michele
Austin), Pansy's younger sister, who calmly and relaxedly tries to be a
harmonizing factor in her difficult sister's relationship. Chantelle owns a
beauty salon and, along with tending to Pansy, tries to find common ground with
her. Despite awakening old quarrels, a visit to the cemetery nevertheless
serves as a softener in Pansy's difficult character.
Hard Truths can be seen as an incisive look inside a
working-class black family, albeit with a relatively well-off background,
facing the tensions produced by a society that does not favour communication
between people. At the same time, the film very eloquently rescues what we
could call true family values, those that do not focus on abstract moral
conceptions but, on the contrary, highlight the emotional bond between these
two sisters, so different but united by a feeling of genuine solidarity.
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Family values, for real |
Running time: 97 min.
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