Small spoilers in front. A lot has been said about the British actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste’s performance As a deacon of pansy Mike Leigh’s Tough truthsAnd it’s easy to understand why. From the original scene, its performance carries an undeniable weight. Pansy is sharp, restless and constantly on the edge. Stuck in a tense, claustrophobic house, where everyone walks in egg shells, she disappoints those around her, family and strangers. Curtley’s young husband (played by David Webber) shrinks in front of her temper, while her non -mobilized adult son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), carries the burden of her relentless criticism. For large part Tough truthsPansy’s anger is impenetrable and does not seem to come from any particular place. About two -thirds of the journey in the movie, Chandelle’s sister (Michele Austin) asks what we all wonder: What are you angry about? Why can’t you enjoy life?
Only then the movie, and Pansy, are starting to look for answers. In a heart-in-heart on the mother’s day by their mom’s grave, Pansy reveals her belief that their mom always favored Chantelle and let Pansy bring the burden of responsibility, especially after dad left them. Today, she is afraid that her whole family hates her. The brief discussion of the brothers is the most emotionally open to see Pansy and yet it feels that we are only scratching the surface. In the following scenes, cunning expressions, silences and explosions reveal that Pansy’s issues go beyond bad temper. Whether he realizes it or not, he struggles with depression and anxiety.
Pansy reminds me so many British Afro-Caribbean women of her generation, whose depression often manifests in ways that are not easily recognized as sadness, which means that no one understands how they were done so.
Pansy’s experiences in Tough truths Go beyond her own matches. They reflect the broader mental health challenges and the unique socio -political issues faced by older black women in modern Britain.
Trying to understand the anger of Pansy becomes a profoundly more difficult and more jerk because no one else – except for us who watch Chandlle’s sister – seems to be interested in doing the same. Even after the completion of Pansy, there is a little emotional response from her son and her husband, letting us question whether there is room for understanding, empathy or support. Curtley and Moses are undoubtedly dealing with their own mental health struggles, but it is not strange that Pansy feels so lonely and frightened by the outside world.
In true Mike Leigh fashion, Pansy’s experiences in Tough truths Go beyond her own matches. They reflect the broader mental health challenges and the unique socio -political issues faced by older black women in modern Britain.
After a six -year pause from cinematic production, Leigh returns with a lot to reflect. The film lands at a time when Britain is still unfolding from public sector cuts, Covid -9 and political upheavals. While Pansy’s story remains in the core, Tough truths It also invites us to consider how these issues have influenced our community, have been explored through the prospects of other characters.
Although Tough truths It’s a quieter, darker movie with a moderate budget compared to the big hitters dominating this awards, there is still the feeling that Marianne Jean-Baptiste could simply slip into the race of the best actress of Academy Awards On the biggest night of the films. After all, in 1997, Jean-Baptiste was the First black British woman be submitted for an Oscar for her role in Mike Leigh’s Drama movie Secrets and lies And we hoped that reunion with the director Tough truths He will write an Oscar victory near 30 years later.
Unfortunately, while Jean-Baptiste has nominated this year’s Baftas, the Oscars have been shown to be a different ballgame. Unlike other events, the Academy Awards are voted by peers, which means that the performance they act must resonate with fellow industry professionals and audiences. Historically, they were biopsies and crap shows where women surpass the adversities that tend to be recognized.
But this awards circuit was different.
Veterans actors like Angelina Jolie, Fernanda Torres, Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman were All in the awards conversationCelebrated for roles that explore the lives of women over 50 years of age and emphasize the sexuality, career and experiences that are greatly sidelined in the film industry. If there was ever a year when Marianne Jean-Baptiste had a shot, it would be that.
What is frustrating for overlooking is not only the harsh yields, but the fact that several male voters reportedly was not attached to or “like” the character of the pansydriving them not to vote. Independent, complex roles are often considered the most delicious roles and, by extension, the prime Oscar Bait. But here, as with the other characters in Tough truthsSome voters could not go to Pansy in the past to recognize humanity, color and complexity under her pain.
I can only feel that this reflects the experiences faced by older black women and their mental health struggles. Society rarely takes time to consider what is depression, stress or other mental health issues to look like them. And Jean-Baptiste’s exclusion from this year’s Oscars Oscars series this year’s actress reflects the expectation of black women to be pleasant, soft and make others feel better, even in their pain.
Greta Gerwig filmmaker put it better when talk about Tough truths During a recent interview. For Gerwig, the movie is not just a woman who says, “Watch me execute my anger” But rather, “Watch me try to breathe while this animal crushes me.” We like to believe that we recognize depression in all its forms and we can realize with its many variations, but perhaps the most difficult truth of this film is that there is still a lot of work to be done to recognize mental health problems in the frequent overlooked.
That is why display illustrations, such as Pansy Matter-create space for the complete complexity of women’s pain and mental health struggles in a way that is still rare.
Tough truths Playing in cinemas now
This article was originally published in Unbothered UK
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