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I've always liked Secrets and Lies and its strengths are undeniable, but the ending always seemed too expedient as a resolution. It's a credit to Leigh and his amazing cast that the last act gets over convincingly - it's only when the credits roll that my reservations really surface.

With Hard Truths, it looked like it could have reached a similar conclusion, except it keeps going further and further, and every step of the way it feels more honest and more knowing about what it's like to be in a family with people like this. It's true Leigh finds something genuinely sympathetic about people like Pansy, and it does feel really tragic, but by the same measure, it's undercut by the unavoidable fact that such people can want and demand all the sympathy in the world while offering none in return. Her uncharitable and unforgiving reaction to her husband's moment of unresponsive numbness at the party betrays a refusal to accept her responsibility in it - that his behavior was emotionally beaten into him by her own toxic behavior and I would add it even pales in comparison to her general unpleasantness. Not surprisingly, when he sees the flowers, he tosses it without hesitation - no human being is without their limits, and it's inevitable he would have at least a moment where he plainly hates her guts. It may not even be a moment - it could very well prove to be how he feels about his wife - but then he hurts his back and finds himself in a position where he needs help, and of course there is no one else, it can only be his spouse. And that pretty much sums up too many marriages out there. It's sad and tragic, but it's no surprise to me that Leigh has been approached by so many people who recognize the same dynamics and the same personalities within their own families. And ultimately such situations may have no resolution - in many cases, it simply goes on.