Two sisters: Mike Leigh (critic)
30 years after secrets and lies, the British filmmaker finds Marianne Jean-Baptiste for an incisive family drama on a woman in crisis and her benevolent sister.
Abandoning historical frescoes (Peterloo Or Mr. Turner), Mike Leigh returns to the study of intimate character with this family drama picked up which recalls his first successes. At the center of the film, we find Marianne Jean-Baptiste almost 30 years after Secrets and lies. She delivers a spectacular interpretation in the role of Pansy, a broken woman incapable of expressing her distress other than by the anger that falls on her relatives (her husband and her son both extinguished by her aggressiveness). In her little English suburbs, Pansy wanders a rage of a rage that borders her between her living room, her bedroom and her bed – injured animal that fear condemns to bite. The only spark of heat in her life comes from her sister Chantelle who tries to integrate it into her loving family universe …
The French title Two sisters try to soften the harshness of the film by suggesting a soothing fraternal relationship, far from the “disturbing truths” (Hard truths) that the English original promises. But Leigh actually does not offer neither comfort nor easy resolution. “Why can’t you enjoy life?” Asks Pansy at some point-who will not be able to answer and curl up a little more about herself as if she wanted to disappear. His portrait could be unbearable, but the filmmaker avoids the voyeurism trap by his sincere tenderness towards his characters. Never cynical or caricatural, it offers a look as lucid as they are human on the invisible damage of a suffering soul.
Of Mike Leigh. With Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber… Duration 1h37. Released April 2, 2025
