At its core, Mike Leigh’s latest film “Hard Truths” explores how unconditional love can heal strained relationships. In the film, Leigh uses the characters’ contrasting familial situations to show there’s no “normal” way families are expected to operate and care for each other.
“Hard Truths” follows the lives of Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a depressed, confrontational woman who struggles with her mental health, and her sister, Chantelle (Michelle Austin), a charismatic hairdresser who approaches life with an infectious smile.
After meeting the sisters, the audience learns that Pansy and Chantelle lost their mother six years prior, which left unaddressed grief and tension between the pair.
Pansy’s extreme irritability and stark pessimism make her an exhausting person to be around and put a strain on her family.
The audience becomes more familiar with Pansy’s personality through the eyes of Pansy’s husband, Curtley (David Webber), and her son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett). As the story progresses, we learn that Pansy and her husband Curtley fell out of love years ago, and their deteriorating marriage leads to miscommunication and constant bickering.
We’re also introduced to Pansy’s strained relationship with her son, whose morose and unmotivated personality negatively affects her. Pansy constantly berates Moses for being lazy, stupid and unmotivated, while also being harassed by his old classmates for his antisocial and solitary behavior on his walks through town.
Pansy’s tense household is juxtaposed by Chantelle’s homelife, which is filled with love, laughter and her two daughters, Aleisha (Sophia Brown) and Kayla (Ani Nelson).
The contrast between Pansy’s struggling family and Chantelle’s flourishing relationships with her children is effective in showing the different ways the sisters experience love and connection in their lives.
The conflict between Pansy and Chantelle comes to a head in a cemetery, where the sisters are paying their respects to their mother on the anniversary of her death.
During what should be a somber and quiet moment, Pansy and Chantelle discuss the differing relationships they had with their mom. In this moment, the audience learns their mother always saw Chantelle as the “golden child,” which made her relationship with their mom better than Pansy’s, who was seen as second best.
The audience realizes then that years after her childhood, Pansy still harbors resentment against her mom and Chantelle. This buried hurt has manifested itself as her negative outlook on life and her insecurities.
After this epiphany, Pansy and Chantelle come to terms with and reflect on their pain and grief. Pansy finally confronts her deep-rooted feelings, and Chantelle finally understands that her sister’s “lack of love” was a result of unresolved grief.
In the closing minutes of “Hard Truths,” Chantelle delivers a line to Pansy that encapsulates the sentiments of the film: “I don’t understand you. But I will always love you.”
The line demonstrates that in broken relationships, it’s not about understanding one’s struggles completely, but rather being a source of love and comfort no matter the circumstances.
“Hard Truths,” while offering a raw and visceral viewing experience, shows audiences how buried trauma can manifest itself in very harmful ways, such as deteriorating mental health or strained relationships.
The film ultimately leaves audiences with the message that every human being is different and struggles in ways incomprehensible to anyone but them, which is just one of the many hard truths of life.
This article was edited by Alia Messina, Marina Zaczkiewicz and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks and Olivia Citarella.
