Like many of Mike Leigh protagonists, Pansy (played by Marianne Jean Baptiste) is not a likable character. She thinks the world is out to get her, so long become bitter and confrontational in any human interactions, both family and strangers. Her contractor husband, Curtley (David Webber) and her slacker, grown up son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) get the brunt of Pansy's fury daily. With years of her abuse while living under the same roof, they have simply given up dealing with her. The only person who is still sympathetic to Pansy is her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) who is a down-to-earth, neighborly hairdresser. To Pansy's discomfort, Chantelle keeps on pushing her to show up for the fifth anniversary of their mother's death.
We know a person like that in real life, you'd think something bad must have happened to her in her early life, because she is so angry and anxious all the time. Not that Hard Truth gives you all the answers as to what happened to Pansy. No, that's not what Leigh is after. He and his collaborators, this time, the great Marianne Jean Baptiste as the lead, dig deeper into prevailing humanity underneath all the bitterness and hate. And it's a sight to see. Pansy is a very hard to like character. But by the end, we see a glimpse of her humanity peeking through here and there, that not all is lost. And with Curtley, despite his hurting back and Moses finding friends in unexpected places, that they are going to be all right.
Marianne Jean Baptiste deserves all the accolades for this performance. By far the best performance by any actor I've seen in a while.
