Mike Leigh returns to the milieu of working class London for his
latest drama, Hard Truths. The film stars Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Pansy, an abrasive woman
who picks fights with everyone she meets, including her own family.
Conversely, her sister Chantal (Michele Austin) views the world through a rose-tinted lens.
David Webber and Tuwaine Barrett also star.
Hard Truths will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on
September 6th, with a UK/ROI cinema release in early 2025.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The film's TIFF synopsis reads:
Hypersensitive to the slightest possible offence and ever ready to fly off the handle, Pansy (Jean-Baptiste) does not ingratiate. She criticizes her husband Curtley (David Webber) and their adult son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett) so relentlessly that neither bother to argue with her. She picks fights with strangers and sales clerks and enumerates the world’s countless flaws to anyone who will listen, most especially her cheerful sister Chantal (Michele Austin), who might be the only person still capable of sympathizing with her. As the film peels back Pansy’s pain and the daily fallout left in its wake, we wonder if a breaking point will come for the family.
