Though hard to watch at times for its depictions of Black pain and trauma, Mike Leigh’s latest is still a film to watch and be proud of says Kevin Bourne in his Hard Truths film review.
Another Black film that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival is Hard Truths, the latest film from award-winning, Oscar-nominated English writer and filmmaker, Mike Leigh. Starring Oscar and Golden Globe nominated actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, and Tuwaine Barrett, the film is centered around Pansy (Jean-Baptiste), a sharp-tongued middle-aged British Black woman, who seems to find misery everywhere she goes, including at home with her quiet and emotionally repressed husband (Webber) and unmotivated adult son Moses (Barrett).
As we would expect, Jean-Baptiste delivers an exceptional performance in the lead role, with her unfiltered rants providing some great comedy through the film. If you grew up in a Caribbean home, you know a scolding can hurt your soul, while making you want to burst out laughing at the same time. Jean-Baptiste provided some of the biggest belly laughs that we heard at any screening at TIFF 24. Barrett also impressed as the quiet teddy bear Moses. He had very few lines, but said so much, which makes his performance even more impressive.
But true to its name, Hard Truths was also hard to watch at times. On the surface, it could be seen as a film about angry, sad, and broken Black people, especially playing into stereotypes around angry Black women and lazy Black sons. Some might even call it “trauma porn”. The story was too familiar as a person who grew up in a Caribbean home. At one point, I questioned why I needed to see a story on screen, which has played out in many families I know personally. I joked to myself, “If I wanted to see this story, I could just go to a friend’s house”.
It was also uncomfortable sitting in a theatre hearing non-Black people laugh at depictions of Black pain. I questioned within myself, “What are you laughing about?” despite the fact I was laughing too.
But the reality is, people of other ethnicities can relate to this story. Black people don’t have a monopoly on sadness and anger, especially among middle-aged women. We’re not the only ethnicity with unmotivated adult sons. We’re not the only ethnicity with failing marriages. Perhaps they laughed because they’ve seen this familiar story play out among their own families, neighbours, and friends.
Also, the sadness and anger in this film is balanced with Black joy, including scenes of young women singing, whining, and laughing, or Pansy’s sister (Austin) and nieces portraying positive mother-daughter relationships.
It’s also refreshing to see Caribbean culture on the big screen. Most of the Black stories we see everyday are through an African American lens. Seeing Caribbean people with Caribbean dialects was a treat and something we desperately need more of in cinema.
Although the ending felt a bit abrupt and could’ve been a bit stronger, and there are scenes that could be hard for Black viewers to watch, the performances, story, and depictions of Caribbean culture, still make Hard Truths a film to watch and be proud of.
Kevin Bourne is SHIFTER’s Toronto-based editor and Senior Entertainment Reporter focusing on Black music and film & TV. He was named one of 300 international voters for the 81st and 82nd Golden Globe Awards by the Golden Globe Foundation and a Tomatometer-Approved Critic by Rotten Tomatoes.
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