by Eurocheese
Mike Leigh is a filmmaker who has always evoked strong opinions, with your typical cinephile having their own takes on which films are strongest among his catalog. Certainly one of the highlights of his career has been Secrets & Lies, with the memorable pairing of Brenda Blethyn and his leading lady from this film, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Her subtle work in that film, clashing against her brash co-stars, is often cited as one of the best performances from any Leigh film, earning her only Oscar nomination to date. Seeing her back in one of his leading roles, fans of the director and actress will be pleased to hear that their reunion brings us one of the best performances and films of the year.
Jean-Baptiste’s Pansy introduces herself to the audience by waking up screaming, and her intensity doesn’t dial down from there...
The post-COVID social angst plays out on her face as she sputters with fury about the state of the world, her family and people in general. While her biting comedy in this mode is hilarious, with several brilliant line readings, the crackling undercurrent is a deep-seeded fury that she is clearly not able to control. Her savage takedowns come with a touch of desperation. The performance is a high wire act – while we are on the edge of our seats waiting to hear what she’ll say next, every interaction is another crack in the veneer. What will happen when Pansy inevitably reaches the end of her rope?
In contrast to this, Pansy’s sister Chantelle (played by Mike Leigh vet Michele Austin) is determined to find the bright spots in her life. While she views her sister with a seemingly healthy skepticism for part of the film, she begins to understand that buried under the insults, something is genuinely wrong. The warmth of her empathetic performance is necessary to contrast the icy cold coming from Pansy, and the conversation between their emotions allows the film to continue to hit its comedic notes perfectly while helping us to peek into what is really going on inside Pansy’s head. Jean-Baptiste guides every moment, taking the audience with her as the character begins to reckon with what she needs to do to find a way out of her misery. Because the film’s jokes consistently land, with a vicarious laugh for anyone who is stressed out by society today (and who isn’t?), Pansy’s silence carries equal weight, showing what happens when her slinging insults are no longer protecting her. It’s impossible to take our eyes off her, but it stings as we watch her wrestle her own bottled anger.
This film would make an interesting pairing with Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky, where Sally Hawkins’ Poppy is doggedly determined to approach the world with a positive outlook. Here we see the flip side: Someone who can’t move past her own negativity and outrage. Both films are unconventional takes on how we view everyday life, leaning towards extremes. Given the current state of the world, how do we find ways to avoid cynicism without unplugging from reality? Are our relationships healthy, or are they holding us back? Or are we the ones failing those around us? The script here – one of the best of the year, especially in the way it can ramp up comedy and anxiety from scene to scene – asks questions without providing easy answers.
As always, this Leigh film will not be for everyone. But it's hard to imagine actors viewing Jean-Baptiste’s performance here and not being impressed, though. Leigh has honed his ability to tease deep emotion out of his films, and this is one of the strongest entries in his long career. It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Jean-Baptiste give a performance at this level, and hopefully the Academy will welcome her back with open arms with a Best Actress nomination.
One final note: RIP Dick Pope, Leigh's regular Oscar-nominated cinematographer passed away this week. He did marvelous work here capturing every emotion up close. This was his final film.