Hard Truths
I feel like every type of relationship dynamic can be toxic if it’s just pushed too far in one direction. The most toxic, however, is that of a person who almost always seems to live in their own world, where everything they think is right and everyone else is wrong. Their personalities are big and bold, their words cut deep. It’s almost as though no one else is good enough for them, and so every one else represses. That is the type of character Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays in Mike Leigh’s “Hard Truths,” 28 years after she was nominated for an Oscar in Leigh’s “Secrets & Lies.” Their collaboration now bares profound, sad fruit in another uniquely original way.
Pansy is a matriarch of a family including her, her husband Curtley (David Webber) and their son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). While Curtley is the one out making money for them, Pansy is the dominant force in the family. She shouts, she yells, she abuses, she makes grand gestures. The result is that both Curtley and Moses- grown men- shrink around her, keeping their words and actions at a minimum. It happens to be near Mother’s Day, and Pansy and her sister- a hairdresser named Chantelle (Michele Austin)- will be going to their mother’s gravesite, followed by their families getting together for a meal. Before and after that, we will get to know a lot about Pansy, and none of it is particularly good, even when it comes to her relationship with Chantelle.
People like Pansy only know how to get their emotions to 11; moderation of the way they interact with the world is next to impossible. We hear from her in a number of her interactions- be it with doctors or family or other people in the world- that she has mental health issues, and suffers from depression. This is not a big surprise to me; I was raised by someone like Pansy. My mother has told me things about her childhood, and what led to some of the ways she interacted with people, that I will take to the grave, and seeing as though she has seen cognitive decline due to her dementia, it’s honestly not worth holding against her, at this point in her life. But my mother was a difficult woman, and bracing to live with for both myself and my dad. But we did love her, not just out of obligation; that’s because she also had a heart that allowed her empathy, as well. Sadly, we don’t really get that out of Pansy, save for a handful of moments near the end, that show that- for all the abuse she can doll out to people, she still has a capacity to be moved by them.
The character of Pansy is a wrecking ball that might be difficult for a lot of people to empathize with, but we can see in Jean-Baptiste’s eyes that she has empathy for this character. This is a fully-formed performance, and seeing her interact with some of these side characters doesn’t just instill us with empathy for her “victims,” but we are entertained by her, as well. That’s one of the other things about a person like Pansy that might be hard to get your head around- their personality is a source of entertainment, as well. Watch how she deals with the poor doctor standing in for her regular doctor; if you’d be waiting for two weeks to see someone, and they don’t show up, you’d be upset, as well. That doesn’t mean the young woman five years out of med school deserves the treatment Pansy gives her, but we understand it, including her inability to really express what is wrong with her. Her lashing out at a couple in a furniture store, messing around on a sofa- and at a sales associate later just doing her job- are completely out of bounds in the context of the scenes, but very entertaining as we watch them unfold. Where we take more pause with her behavior is towards her family, and seeing how each one navigates those relationships- Moses with retreating to his room, Curtley with non-committed silence, and Chantelle with a perspective that only she is able to give because she’s probably more familiar with Pansy than anyone. Austin has important truths to give Pansy at certain moments, and they make her the clear balance to her in the film. Jean-Baptiste and Austin do tremendous, thoughtful work in a bond that can often bend, but doesn’t easily break. This is where Leigh excels, and he and his actors give us a lively energy only his films really have. “Hard Truths,” to be sure, but ones we’ll take away from his films every time.
