“Hard Truths” dramatizes a brittle, angry British woman    

Most people most of the time suppress the urge to verbally assault others, however tempting the impulse. Polite exchange usually wins out. Well, meet Pansy Deacon whose social graces appear nonexistent in writer/director Mike Leigh's "Hard Truths." In a magnificent, courageous performance, Marianne Jean-Baptiste manages to reveal Pansy's pain amidst her outbursts.

Set in contemporary London, middle-aged Pansy seems to have a reasonably average, middle class life. And yet, in shocking and hilarious ways, middle-aged, lonely Pansy relentlessly lashes out, unprovoked, at home, at her dental hygienist, and at store clerks and other shoppers. The tolerance of her husband Curtley, a hard-working plumber, and adult son Moses, utterly unambitious and quiet, reveals their long-standing exposure to and indulgence of Pansy's depression, channeled into vicious, hurtful remarks.

At a Mother's Day celebration coinciding with five years of their mother's death, her upbeat, supportive sister Chantelle, a hairdresser, delivers the most stinging question, "What are you so angry about?" To which Pansy honestly, painfully shouts, "I don't know!" Of Jamaican background, Pansy is constantly irritated in ways that cultural details obliquely suggest. That Jean-Baptiste makes Pansy so complex and appealing, despite her scathing, unprovoked put-downs, has already earned her prestigious acting awards with additional nominations in play.

Multiple Oscar nominee for writing and directing, eighty-one-year-old Mike Leigh collaborates in a unique way for all his films. Once he decides on a basic theme, he assembles a cast and over weeks lets them create and explore the truthful behavior of their characters. As a result, nothing ever feels manufactured and even casual exchanges reveal depths of insight. For "Hard Truths," exploration yielded a film relevant and valuable to so many individuals today: this vague but explosive antagonism to others, an indefinable anger, a slow fuse that I and, I'm sure, many have witnessed.

Cinematographer Dick Pope contributes a contrasting presence for Pansy's and Chantelle's homes: Pansy's OCD sterile, Chantelle's warm and cluttered with people and things. Similarly, editor Tania Reddin lets scenes play out as characters reveal themselves. Importantly, we're invited to recognize ourselves in all our emotional complexity. "Hard Truths" is available now. Check listings.