Hard Truths

Mike Leigh returns with an uncompromising, yet heartfelt, portrait of contemporary family life in London. Sisters Pansy and Chantal are chalk and cheese, but their close bond is the foundation that their extended family is built upon. Life has proven too much for Pansy and her anguish manifests in relentless criticism of the world, leaving her husband Curtley, son Moses and Chantal walking on eggshells. Things come to a head over the course of a Mother’s Day weekend. Rarely have the nuances of familial relations been so accurately captured on screen. Working with regular collaborators Jacqueline Duran (costume design), Gary Yershon (music), Suzie Davies (production design) and the late, great Dick Pope (cinematography), Hard Truths ranks alongside Leigh’s finest films. Michelle Austin, David Webber and Tuwaine Barrett excel as members of the Pansy family. But it’s Leigh’s collaboration with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, their first since Secrets & Lies in 1996, that anchors this film and she gives a performance so intimate in its details it could almost be moments from a home movie.

Kristy Matheson, BFI Festivals Director

Audio Description available at all screenings.

The screenings on Fri 31 Jan 14:30 NFT3; Sat 1 Feb 18:30 NFT3, Wed 5 Feb 12:30 NFT4; Thu 6 Feb 18:20 NFT3 will be presented with additional Descriptive Subtitles of non-dialogue audio (more to follow in February).

See the Hard Truths Member Salon event and a Seniors’ Matinee + intro screening.