Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 5, 2025

Writer/director Mike Leigh went uncharacteristically big in his last picture. Working under a sizable budget (for Leigh at least) and a different sense of scope, the helmer launched a historical epic in 2018’s “Peterloo,” but audiences weren’t very interested in watching the lengthy endeavor. Instead of trying to top himself, Leigh returns to the intimacies of a domestic drama in “Hard Truths,” which plays to his strengths as a storyteller favoring tough tales of distraught people recognizing the difficulties of their lives. Leigh doesn’t go easy on the audience with the effort, taking a close look at a woman managing all sorts of mental health issues while handling family demands. “Hard Truths” cuts to the core with its study of emotional and physical pain, and while the cast is exceptional here, the feature fully belongs to star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who provides a full-body understanding of a calcified person unwilling to participate in the world any longer.

Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) lives in London, dealing with depression and assorted mental health challenges that often keep her in bed. When she’s awake, Pansy rages against the community around her, picking fights with others and condemning nearly everything she sees, including her son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), who’s closed off the world, preferring to remain silent. Pansy’s husband, Curtley (David Webber), works a labor- intensive job during the day, coming home to a spouse who can’t control her outbursts. As Mother’s Day approaches, Chantelle (Michele Austin) pushes Pansy, her sister, to visit their mother’s grave. Such an event is difficult to arrange, putting Pansy on edge as she gets closer to the source of her misery, while Chantelle tries to remain positive, keeping tabs on her daughters, Kayla (Ani Nelson) and Aleshia (Sophia Brown), who are handling their problems in a more optimistic manner.

One of the great character details about Pansy is how she always wakes up screaming from a nap. She spends a lot of time in bed, trying to sleep most of the day away, giving her a small sense of peace before returning to the horror show of her life. Pansy is dealing with chronic pain and a host of personal issues, including touches of OCD and agoraphobia, creating a dwelling that’s hostile to outsiders, especially animals, finding birds outside her window a particular problem. She’s emotionally shut down for the most part, preparing for war during her waking hours, and “Hard Truths” introduces the extremity of her behavior at home, where she furiously cleans the dwelling and berates Moses, as the 22-year-old man has no interest in participating in life, save for daily walks he refuses to share the details about. It’s a type of learned behavior, the first of many for most of the characters in “Hard Truths,” and Leigh is interested in watching how these personalities react to one another.

Chantelle is nearly the polar opposite of Pansy. She has some fatigue issues, but she carries on with humor, spending days on the job as a hairdresser, interacting with her clients and their confiding ways. She maintains a connection to her children, enjoying the silliness and support of the position. Chantelle doesn’t know how to handle Pansy, and this relationship becomes the core dramatic experience of “Hard Truths,” tracking how the sisters communicate, especially as they near a date with their mother’s grave. Leigh eventually gets to meatier confessions, but he seems to enjoy Pansy’s life experience, giving much of the movie over to her angry ways, following her to the grocery store, doctor, and dentist, where she spends most of these appointments berating people trying to help her. The bristliness of these encounters is almost darkly comedic, watching Pansy go after anyone she deems offensive, which ends up being the entirety of society, and some are more than happy to share their disgust with her

Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation for "Hard Truths" largely deals with character examination. Skin particulars on the cast are distinct throughout the viewing experience, exploring elements of age and fatigue. Costuming is fibrous, and decorative additions are textured. Interiors retain dimension, allowing for frame inspection. Exteriors are limited but deep, offering appreciation of city and suburban experiences. Color is sharp, maintaining rich greenery and crisp whites, while clothing and paint jobs provide excellent primaries. Skin tones are natural. Delineation is satisfactory. Milder encoding issues are periodic.

Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix primarily deals with dialogue exchanges in "Hard Truths." These conversations and speeches are crisp throughout the listening event, also remaining stable when surging into argumentative activity, maintaining balance with yelling matches. Scoring is delicate, with defined instrumentation on orchestral achievements. Musical moods periodically flow into the surrounds, but the track is largely frontal. Atmospherics are limited but present with city movement and outdoor interactions. Room tone around living spaces is appreciable. Low-end isn't challenged.

Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this release.

Hard Truths Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Hard Truths" offers a wealth of unresolved issues and hidden pain in its last act, watching how Pansy deals with direct confrontation connected to her mother's care and sisterly bonds. However, Leigh makes room for everyone in the story, even following Kayla and Aleisha as they handle mistakes at their places of employment. The material doesn't build to an explosion, as Leigh prefers more haunted areas of relationships and realities to examine, asking viewers to interpret the future for these troubled souls. "Hard Truths" isn't always easy to digest, but Leigh maintains pace and precision with his cast, who contribute strikingly powerful interpretations of sadness. However, Jean-Baptiste is a force of nature in the picture, and while the work is showy at times, it's also beautifully nuanced, providing little windows into the real, frightened woman that exists underneath a shell of contempt. It's a remarkable performance, while the feature is a fine return to form for Leigh.