Marianne Jean-Baptiste Is Superb as the Most Miserable Woman in the World in Mike Leigh’s ‘Hard Truths’

Sandra Miska

Nearly 30 years after “Secrets & Lies,” filmmaker Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste reunite to lay down some difficult facts about being human in the tragicomedy “Hard Truths.” Jean-Baptiste stars as Pansy Deacon, a middle-aged British woman who takes being ornery to a whole new level. The most frequent targets of her wrath are her plumber husband Curtley (David Webber), their failure-to-launch adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), and her hairdresser sister Chantelle (Michele Austin). She also manages to bum out just about everyone else she comes in contact with, i.e. a saleswoman at a furniture store whom she accuses of harassing her when she just asks if she needs help. Overall, most people cannot help and look at her and wonder what the hell this woman’s problem is.

Even though she appears to live a comfortable middle-class life, Pansy cannot help but be miserable all the time. Her husband and son are far from perfect — Curtley seems mostly checked out of his marriage and Moses lacks ambition — but she is so awful to them that they are mostly objects of pity here. She gives Curtley a hard time for having a job that involves being around filth. She also yells at Moses for not having a job or being in school, instead of taking the time to understand why he is the way he is and what is holding him back. Later, we see him being bullied when he is out for a walk, which partly explains why he prefers to retreat into his own world.

It had to have been exhausting for Jean-Baptiste to play a perpetually perturbed character, but she certainly delivers, and a lot of her rants are even comical. She complains about one neighbor dressing their dog in a coat and boots (“It already has fur!”), and another for putting a large bow on her baby’s head “so everyone can see that it is a girl.” (“Like I care!”). At the aforementioned furniture store, she gives a young couple a hard time for getting too cozy on a sofa. Later, it is revealed that her excessive caffeine intake may be at least partially responsible for her behavior, but there is obviously something deeper going on.

Leigh has always done an excellent job of offering intimate glimpses into the lives of ordinary people, and “Hard Truths” is a shining example of this. Easygoing Chantelle is the polar opposite of her sister, and as a result, has raised two well-adjusted daughters (Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown). We learn a lot about the lives of other middle-aged women who end up in her chair at the salon. The truth is that hairdressers probably hear more private confessions than therapists. 

One person who has a hard time being vulnerable to Chantelle is Pansy. But if anyone can bring out her humanity, it is her sister. It is an emotional scene at their mother’s grave, Chatelle finally asks the question everyone is wondering: Why can’t Pansy just enjoy life? When all is said and done, Leigh and Jean-Baptiste give the viewer a lot to meditate on regarding the human condition. Were the sisters just born different, or did life circumstances make them the way they are? Could the pandemic or a more personal event have broken her brain? Pansy does not go through a massive transformation. Rather, the actress and filmmaker accomplish something even more profound; they make the viewer feel something for such an insufferable protagonist.

“Hard Truths” releases Jan. 10 in select theaters and Jan. 17 in theaters nationwide.