Take A Chance On Love: Mike Leigh Delivers A Late Career Powerhouse
You can’t help but wonder if Mike Leigh is making a sly joke by naming Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s ferociously angry, deeply bitter, anxiety-ridden, and devastatingly depressed character Pansy Deacon. A priestly flower, she isn’t. But Hard Truths, a late career stunner from Leigh, plants Pansy and her impenetrable exterior in tough, rich soil, and patiently brings her into miraculous bloom.
A tortured tornado, Pansy spews acidic invective to anyone in her radius, family and strangers alike. Friends would endure the same if she had any. Everyone is wearing too much makeup, disgracing themselves by what they wear, acting shamefully, wasting energy, and most crucially, not living up to the expectations Pansy has for them.… Read the rest
