The Ending

I have only seen two other Mike Leigh films so far (though a few are on my watchlist): 'Secrets and Lies' and 'Another Year'. I thought the ending to 'Hard Truths' was bleaker than the other two films. While the ensemble all comfort each other in their suffering at the end of SAL, in 'Hard Truths' Pansy and Curtley are left to ponder alone, unable to escape their loneliness and hurting both physically and emotionally.

It's worth noting that the three mothers at the heart of the film: Pansy, her mother and Curtley's mother might be partly to blame for the misery experienced by their children. Curtley refuses to talk about his mother when asked and Pansy suggests that her mother, a single parent, was emotionally distanced from her as her own son Moses is from her. As such, it was a nice touch of irony to have the family gather together to celebrate Mother's Day.