"[Leigh] remains peerlessly sensitive to how life grows around the hurt that threatens to stop it in place."—David Ehrlich, IndieWire
"Even at its funniest, Hard Truths finds Marianne Jean-Baptiste channeling an anger that feels excruciatingly real."—Cole Kronman, Slant Magazine
"Marianne Jean-Baptiste gives a performance for the ages."—Justin Chang, The New Yorker
A Blue Carpet Dash Film
Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is wracked by fear, tormented by afflictions, and prone to raging tirades. Whether she's ranting to her husband, son, sister, or a stranger at the grocery store, her combative and cold exterior masks a deeper truth. Meanwhile her easygoing younger sister (Michele Austin) is a single mother with a life as different from Pansy’s as their clashing temperaments—brimming with communal warmth from her salon clients and daughters alike. This darkly humorous slice of life from director Mike Leigh (Secrets & Lies) is a delicately layered study of family and loss featuring a standout performance from Jean-Baptiste who was Oscar nominated for her previous collaboration Leigh nearly 30 years ago.
