In the captivating series Hard Truths, Marianne Jean-Baptiste brilliantly portrays Pansy Deacon, a character who isn’t so much conversing with people as she is unleashing volcanic bursts of pent-up thoughts upon them. Her interactions often resemble confrontations with an unstoppable inner critic that seems to be constantly spouting grievances. To her husband Curtley (David Webber) and son Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), Pansy appears more like a towering presence in their household, a looming force to be navigated around during the day or endured during dinner as she hurls diatribes in their direction, their heads bowed in submission. To any unfortunates who happen to cross her path, Pansy is a storm cloud capable of turning even the most innocuous encounters into tempests of verbal fury.
From a safe distance, viewers might find themselves chuckling at her antics, acknowledging that she possesses a certain comedic flair. However, humor seems to elude Pansy herself, for she appears devoid of it.
In a captivating manner, Pansy’s spontaneous complaints reveal a rhythm akin to poetry, swiftly transitioning from worries about racial profiling by law enforcement to contemplations on the ethics of pet apparel: “Why’s that dog wearing a coat? It’s got fur, isn’t it?” Her knack for delivering stinging remarks is evident when she casually criticizes a woman at the grocery store as standing like an ostrich, subtly hinting at the elongated neck of the actor portraying her character. However, the phrase that lingers in my thoughts isn’t directed at anyone specific. During a visit to her late mother Pearl’s grave, Pansy confides in her more optimistic sister Chantelle (Michele Austin) that she feels “tormented… tormented.” The source of her torment remains ambiguous and insignificant by this point – it is the profound impact of life’s pleasures being overshadowed by her current state that resonates with Pansy. Jean-Baptiste delivers this line with the emptiness of a returning soldier, rather than a housewife and mother who quarrels with store employees. Despite Pansy’s inability to articulate the existential danger she feels she’s enduring, Jean-Baptiste convinces us of the depths of her despair.
Last year, numerous outstanding performances took place, but none can compare to Jean-Baptiste’s role in “Hard Truths“. It seems almost unjust to compare, as her performance is not just a demonstration of acting skills, but a testament to creativity, developed with writer-director Mike Leigh over weeks. This collaboration resulted in a rich history and interior depth that served as the foundation for the entire film. Unlike traditional films where plots come first and characters are molded around them, Leigh’s approach is unique; he works with actors to create characters, starting from fragments of real people and ending up with something more authentic and tangible. Jean-Baptiste has mastered this process, as evidenced by her Oscar nomination for “Secrets & Lies“, her work in one of Leigh’s stage productions, and their collaboration on the score of “Career Girls“. Recently, at the New York Film Critics Circle awards, Leigh acknowledged Jean-Baptiste’s multifaceted talents by mentioning that she also paints and keeps a portrait she painted of him in his bathroom. Following “Secrets & Lies“, Jean-Baptiste worked on over 150 episodes of the U.S. procedural “Without a Trace“. However, her role in “Hard Truths” carries a sense of revelation, similar to Clark Kent shedding his glasses and reminding us of the extraordinary abilities he’s possessed all along.
In a creative yet complex manner, delving too deeply into these intricate details of the play might make it seem less tangible, as it’s both vital and demanding. The notion of likeability, often unfairly expected, particularly for female characters, or used as a provocation, doesn’t quite apply to Pansy. Pansy is puzzling, bitter, and lost – Jean-Baptiste portrays her with a constant sneer that appears involuntary, akin to a scared animal feigning threat. However, Pansy can’t be easily written off as an embittered terror, even when she instills fear through petty acts like calling a doctor she stalks a “mouse with glasses squeaking at me.”
This is due to Jean-Baptiste’s portrayal, which ensures we never forget that Pansy’s actions stem from a deep, unarticulated pain that could originate from various sources – her untreated mental health issues, an unhappy marriage, or resentment towards the mother she believes favored her younger sister, whom Pansy had to help raise after their father left.
At the core of “Hard Truths“, and Jean-Baptiste’s exceptional performance, lies an understanding that it doesn’t really matter what led Pansy to be who she is – what truly matters now is how she copes with it.
In comparison to Jean-Baptiste’s last film with Leigh, “Secrets & Lies,” the movie most similar in conversation with “Hard Truths” is actually “Happy-Go-Lucky,” a 2008 comedy directed by Mike Leigh, starring Sally Hawkins as Poppy Cross, a cheerful schoolteacher. Just like Poppy’s relentless positivity that borders on the pathological, Pansy’s tendency to react to situations with anger or disgust makes her a kind of opposite character, a sort of dark twin in reverse. The world seems hostile and overwhelming to Pansy, causing her to react with fear and panic. At times, it even feels like she might be responsible for the chaos around her. For instance, after arguing with a salesperson at a furniture store who dared to ask if she needed help, Pansy retreats to her car in tears. Mike Leigh’s expression during this moment suggests he’s on the verge of revealing something significant. Pansy seems aware that something is amiss, but after living in a reactive state for so long, she is afraid to confront it. However, an exchange of insults with a stranger later relieves her of the need for self-reflection, and she appears happier in this moment than anywhere else in the film.
In interviews, Jean-Baptiste admits that watching “Hard Truths” for the first time was challenging, as she felt a strong sense of apprehension, expecting Pansy to be struck despite knowing no such scenes were imminent. When I viewed “Hard Truths” for the first time, a similar thought crossed my mind – Pansy often gives off the impression of someone bracing for impact. During tense moments, her eyes spark with an exhilaration that’s both fearful and terrifying, reminiscent of someone preparing to ignite something or leap off a cliff into uncharted waters. She seems perpetually curious, though she may not be able to verbalize what she’s seeking. Chantelle is the only one in Pansy’s life who exhibits patience with her, and at the end of “Hard Truths,” she tells her sister, “I love you – I don’t understand you, but I love you.” Despite Pansy’s exhausting nature, she embodies a universal impulse that surfaces at times. This is the urge to externalize our feelings of unhappiness and take it out on those around us, seeking acknowledgment and empathy for our pain. Jean-Baptiste’s genius lies in her ability to make us question Pansy’s prickly demeanor at the start of “Hard Truths,” only to reveal glimpses of ourselves by the end – even if we’d rather not acknowledge it.
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2025-01-13 19:54