Hard Truths reunites Mike Leigh with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, the star of his Secrets And Lies (1996), and marks his final collaboration with cinematographer Dick Pope, who passed away following filming. We meet Pansy, the flipside to Happy-Go-Lucky’s Poppy, a woman so full of rage that every interaction she has devolves into lashing out, whether at her utterly cowed husband and son, or random strangers who have the temerity to address her. In contrast, her sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) lives with her two vivacious daughters and plies a successful trade as a hairdresser, putting clients at their ease all day long. Yet beneath Pansy’s abrasive exterior are hints of a more fragile psyche, one motivated by fear and damaged by repressed pain. As always, Leigh views even the most flawed of characters with generosity and understanding. Notes by Kevin Coyne.