This film got a limited release in December, 2024, probably only one or two cinemas in order to qualify for the Academy Awards. This film was critically acclaimed. The National Board of Review ranked it as one of the Top 10 Independent Films. It was nominated for a Gotham Award, a Spirit Award and a BAFTA. It got a wider release in January, 2025, with the hope that it would get an Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, it didn't. It's one of those films that is a perfect vehicle to showcase an incredible actor. There really isn't a plot or a story with twists and turns. It's a character study or what some might call a slice of life. Writer-director Mike Leigh is simply showing us a few days in the world of a singular person. Sometimes, there will be a narrative that goes from A to B to C with some kind of problem to overcome or some goal to attain, but that's not the case here.
In terms of tone, this film feels like it's diametrically opposed to Leigh's Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), which was about a woman who was aggressively or unflinchingly optimistic. This feature is about a woman who is in fact the reverse on that spectrum. However, in terms of structure, this film is probably the most similar to Leigh's Another Year (2011), which was about a woman who suffered from depression, although this film has a woman dealing with a much worse form of depression that is aggressively and unflinchingly pessimistic. That might not seem like a fun time, as the film does eventually pull us into a pathos and empathy of her depression. At the same time though, watching the protagonist exact her aggressive and unflinching pessimism is very entertaining and also quite funny. As such, the first hour of this film could be perceived as rather comedic.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste (Without a Trace and Secrets & Lies) stars as Pansy Deacon, a woman probably in her late 50's who is likely retired. She lives in London with her husband and her adult son. She complains that she's not well and that she's a sick woman. She has all kinds of pains throughout her body and in her teeth. She's made appointments but she's been waiting a while. As such, she's become very cranky. Her crankiness results in her lashing out at everything and everyone. It starts with her son. She lashes out at him for making a mess or complaining about what he eats or the fact that she thinks he's not ambitious enough. She later complains about her husband and his work. It spreads to her criticizing her sister and her nieces. It then branches out to random people that she encounters at stores or in parking lots.
Those encounters are fierce. They always result in sharp insults, which feel like they were written by a pretty powerful and in-your-face comedian or comedienne. Leigh allows Jean-Baptiste to monologue at times with just a camera on her with seemingly no edits. The first hour is basically a standup comedy act with a really dead-on insult comic or one of the most amazing roast masters one has ever seen. It's almost as if she should be a member, if not the head of the New York Friars Club or a London equivalent. If you are the object of her roast, then it's probably highly frustrating, but watching it would have you think her more capable than Jeff Ross or any expect in "the dozens."
Michele Austin (Another Year and Secrets & Lies) co-stars as Chantelle Montgomery, the sister to Pansy, who works at a beauty or hair salon. She's a single mother with two adult daughters. She's not depressed or feels the need to lash out at people. She's generally joyful. Unlike her sister, Chantelle actually laughs. Her relationship with her children isn't contentious or one where she's constantly criticizing them. She shows her kids love and is able to give them affection. She likes to gossip, which her sister does as well, but Pansy's gossip is always one filled with vitriol and anger. Chantelle's gossip is simply that of bemusement. It's a few days leading up to the Mother's Day holiday and Chantelle wants to visit her mother's grave, as well as have a family dinner with her children and Pansy's family. The plot, such that it is, is Chantelle's attempts to get Pansy to go the cemetery and then go to the family dinner, which Pansy vehemently resists.
Rounding out the cast is David Webber who plays Curtley Deacon, the husband to Pansy, and Tuwaine Barrett who plays Moses Deacon, the only son to Pansy. It's gotten to the point where Curtley and Moses barely speak to Pansy because they know that she's only going to yell and criticize them, nitpicking at the littlest things. Of course, there's nothing wrong with her wanting a clean house or not want animals like foxes or birds getting inside, but she does take it to extreme, neurotic levels. They seem to be constantly demoralized and fighting back seems pointless. It is strange that both are there continuing to take her abuse and vitriol.
Moses is old enough that he could move out. It becomes a question of why doesn't he, but we see that Moses could himself be dealing with a kind of depression. We see him go out for walks, but when he does, he sometimes gets bullied for being overweight, if not obese. It could be the case that Curtley is also suffering from a kind of depression too. He doesn't seem all that happy, so why doesn't he leave? At one point, Pansy admits to being scared of being alone and thought that no one would want to be with her. It could be that Courtley feels the same way, so he'll stay in this abusive or toxic relationship simply due to feeling like they have no other options.
Rated R for language.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 37 mins.
Available on Paramount + and VOD.