Mike Leigh’s latest film “Hard Truths” gives us one of the most abrasive characters in his filmography since “Naked” (1993). While this is definitely not a pleasant experience at all, Leigh presents this troubled human figure with a lot of care and compassion as he has done many of the memorably flawed but realistic human characters in his numerous acclaimed films for more than 50 years, and the movie is also anchored quite well by one of the best performances of last year.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who incidentally collaborated with Leigh in “Secrets & Lies” (1996) nearly 30 years ago, plays Pansy Deacon, a middle-aged married black woman who is quite bitter and angry to say the least. Not long after she wakes up in the morning, Pansy verbally harasses her working-class husband as well as their introverted adult son, and we come to sense that both her husband and son have endured her irascible temper for years while being quite unhappy and miserable in each own silent way.

And we see how Pansy also often wields her bitter anger outside her house. As she frequently clashes with others over little petty issues, we are all the amazed and horrified by her hostile attitude full of vitriolic aggression, while also keeping wondering more about her. What is exactly wrong with this apparently problematic woman? Is she actually aware of how much she is making herself as well as others unhappy?

As wincing more for her rather pathological human behaviors, I was reminded of the equally problematic hero of “Naked”, who, embodied so well by one of the best performances from David Thewlis, also often cannot help but make not only himself but also others quite miserable in a decidedly self-destructive way. As he gradually turns out to be a far more complex human figure with considerable wit and intelligence, we come to have some understanding and compassion for him, but he remains to be a very, very, very, unpleasant person to the end, and we continue to cringe for his toxic behaviors as before.

Just like him, Pansy mostly sticks to her very unpleasant sides to the end, but the movie slowly delves into her pain and vulnerability, which brings some human complexity to this very unlikable heroine. Yes, she is indeed the most miserable human being in the story, but we come to gather that she has been helplessly stuck in her anger and torment for so many years that, like many of the pitifully inarticulate characters in Leigh’s films, she does not know how to reach out to others for help or support while keeping scratching and scorching others around her as usual.

Meanwhile, we also get some achingly human moments as she lets herself softened a bit in front of her hairdresser sister Chantelle (Michele Austin), who is the yang to Pansy’s yin just like the two contrasting twin sister characters in Leigh’s “Life Is Sweet” (1990). Quite different from her sister in many aspects, Chantelle is happy and content with her ongoing life, and we also observe how casual and friendly she is to her two adult daughters, each of whom is leading a fairly good life of each own as shown from their respective brief moments in the middle of the film.

The happy mood among Chantelle and her two daughters makes a big contrast to how barren and cheerless Pansy’s domestic environment feels. Her suburban house looks as sterile and lonely as a rather empty apartment I have simply resided alone by myself during last several months, and we come to sense more of the emotional barrier between her and her son and husband. Instead of confronting their festering domestic issues, both her husband and son usually hide behind that for enduring another bout of her anger, while still being miserably stuck in each own lethargic psychological status.

Even as Pansy comes to show more of her worst sides, the movie continues to show more compassion toward Pansy just like Chantelle, who still accepts and tolerates Pansy as a person who knows and understands her sister better than anyone else. During one particular private scene between her and Pansy, we come to learn a bit more about how unhappy they were during their childhood period, and Leigh wisely lets us have some more understanding of what makes Pansy tick instead of directly explaining to us.

It is known well to many of us that Leigh always fleshes out his screenplay as closely interacting with his performers right from the very beginning, and what he and his main cast members bring to the screen is another vivid slice of life to be admired and appreciated. Deftly balancing itself between immediate intensity and subtle human nuances even during the painfully awkward family meeting scene reminiscent of “Secrets & Lies”, Jean-Baptiste’s terrific performance here in this film surely deserves all the praises and awards given to her during the Oscar season of this year, and her failure to get the nomination for Best Actress will be remembered as another biggest mistake in the Oscar history just like Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Luck” (2008) or Timothy Spall in “Mr. Turner” (2014). Around Jean-Baptiste, several performers including David Webbe, Tuwaine Barrett, Ani Nelson, Sophia Brown, and Jonathan Livingstone have each own moment to shine, and Michele Austin, who played minor supporting roles in Leigh’s several previous films including “All or Nothing” (2002), complements Jean-Baptiste well during their several key scenes in the film.

In conclusion, “Hard Truths” shows Leigh back in element after the minor disappointment of his previous film “Peterloo” (2018). While it is surely interesting to observe how Leigh’s own storytelling approach is flawlessly applied to the colored main characters in the film, the movie surely shows that he is still a great filmmaker, and we can only hope that Leigh, who recently had his 82nd birthday in last month, will continue to impress us more during next several years at least.