Genre : Comedy-Drama

Runtime : 1hr 37min

Language : English

IMDb : 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes : 95%

Letterboxd : 3.8/5

Metacritic : 88%

Wikipedia : Link

Director : Mike Leigh

Cast

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown

Plot

Hard Truths centers on Pansy Deacon, a middle-aged woman in London whose life is dominated by anxiety, depression, and a harsh voice that lashes out at friends, family, and strangers alike. She lives with her patient but silent husband Curtley, and her adult son Moses, who drifts through life, worn down by Pansy’s disapproval and fierce demands. Pansy’s younger sister, Chantelle, is kinder, more outgoing, and tries to draw Pansy into moments of connection: when Chantelle insists they visit their mother’s grave on Mother’s Day for the first time since her passing, Pansy hesitates, haunted by past hurts and convinced of being unloved and overlooked. As the day unfolds, family tensions surface—resentments over favoritism from their mother, unspoken fears, and Pansy’s isolation. In a fragile moment, Moses offers her flowers, showing love despite her walls. Still, the film ends not with neat resolutions but with Pansy’s continuing struggle—a hard truth of living amid pain, alienation, but also flickers of love.