Vera Drake (2004) User Reviews (185)

a gem of a movie

[ikanboy · 8/10 · 10 November 2004]

Imelda Staunton is superb and is my bet for the Oscar unless some Hollywood Diva does another "out of character" performance. But she only shines because of the company she keeps.This is ensemble acting at it's finest. No melodramatics, no attempt to steal scenes,and the result is as honest as life itself. This is the way the British talked, almost always indirectly, hedging around issues rather than hitting them head on, and a slave to mannered behavior. Understate, understate, understate.

Having lived in England from 1952 to 1959, and having married someone who was British who grew up during the war and it's aftermath this movie was like "a bit of old home." My mother employed "char ladies" like Vera, although we were "upper middle class" rather than "upper." The class differences were quite distinct in those days, and often determined by accent. What this movie shows is not only the average life of a "lower class" family but the options forced on them that were different from those in the higher brackets of society.

As anyone should know by know the movie is about illegal abortion in a rigid

puritanical society. Illegal, that is, for those without means, but quite available to those who could grease the wheels of the medical establishment who had "legal" ways around the law. In other words if Roe v. Wade goes then Vera's will pop up again.

There is no attempt to make a statement for or against abortion. As Mike Leigh has said: abortion has been in every society for thousands of years. The Vera Drake's who have lived could populate a small city. What this movie does do is emphasize that the Vera's were/are common average people not quasi criminals lurking behind the curtains of some seedy back alley shack, and that legislating morality never addresses the often harsh reality of human society.

It's not entertainment but...

[ILLPIRATA · 9/10 · 18 November 2004]

It's not entertainment but...this is an extraordinary piece of work.

I went to see Alexander on a Wednesday night and Vera Drake the night after and what a contrast! A story that means something, characters that feel rough and real in your hands like worn stones in an old pathway, and above all film making with a purpose with no effort to dazzle just inform.

It's not perfect, but this is the kind of imperfection all of us in Hollywood should strive for.

A word about the art direction too. I remember the 50's in England and yes it was just like that - I remember my parents kitchen being that dismal and green, and yes English people and English families can be that incommunicative, and yes they sat in front of the fire and talked about the war and the Blitz and yes we would sit in the parlour on Christmas day and eat off a table just like that.

There. I've shared secrets with you. Now go and see this and keep crap like Alexander off the screens.

Superb in every way

[wisewebwoman · 9/10 · 27 November 2004]

"Vera Drake" is one of those movies that takes you right in and does not release you until long after the movie is over. Come to think of it, most of Mike Leigh's movies have this effect.

Imelda Staunton is flawless as Vera Drake, a kind-hearted simple soul who believes in sharing the compassion and the caring for her own family with others. Part of this compassion is exemplified in a skill she has - she is a back street abortionist. She does not do it for financial gain, but out of sympathy for the helpless women who cannot afford the psychiatric evaluations given to the rich who are then sent to private nursing homes for the procedures.

Through a series of circumstances she is caught and convicted and we observe the effects on her family and those about her.

Everything is flawless about this film. We really are in the cramped little flat where Vera lives, in the near slum environment. Her cheerful domestic work in the wealthy homes of London is in stark contrast to the poverty of her own post war rationed existence.

This film and the actors have to be nominated for many Oscars. Mike Leigh you have done it again. Bravo! 9 out of 10.

Wonderfully acting, developed and written even if the slow pace may put some off

[bob the moo · 13 February 2005]

In the early 1950's, Britain is still very much recovering from the war years and the working classes are very much held together by salt-of-the-earth types supporting their families and others. One such woman is Vera Drake; mother, wife, carer, cleaner and part-time back-street abortionist. Vera takes no money for her work and simply wishes to give them the help that they cannot afford to get through legitimate channels. However not everyone shares her view of abortion and it is only a matter of time before Vera's work comes to the attention of the authorities.

Bearing in mind that this film being mentioned in the Oscars, Baftas and general glowing support of critics, it is easy to forget that it raced through the UK's multiplexes so quickly that I had to wedge myself into a sold-out art-house cinema just to see it (sold out, that is, on an afternoon screening). It is even easier to forget that fewer than 1000 people have even voted for this title as I write this review. Certainly watching it yesterday it is easy to understand why it is feted by critics but not the choice of thousands of teenagers for a Saturday night at the movies, because it is a very slow, difficult film that is far from being a bundle of laughs. However it is still a fascinating film throughout even if it is not as strong as could have been expected. The story is basic and it can't quite fill the time, maybe down to the way it was written – that is, it was written as a frame and the dialogue was improvised and workshopped rather than scripted in the traditional fashion (hence Leigh's surprise at one of his Oscar nominations!).

While this weakens the story a little, it seems to have produced great performances from the cast that do more than cover for the slow pace. Staunton is superb and she stands out in the best actress category. She is a complex character that the film never easily pigeonholes and it shows how balanced the film is in the way we are not swayed in her favour by her character whenever her morals come under fire. The film is very much hers and she is totally convincing in her character. She is well supported by natural performances from Graham, Davis, Marsan and Mays among others. Leigh's direction is very intimate and, with sets and costumes, he has painted a convincingly downbeat view of post-war Britain that looks good and adds to the realistic feel of the film.

The film had a lot less debate than I had expected and it doesn't really come down on either side of the abortion issue; I guess that it is better that it leaves it to us to think over rather than preaching to us – how nice (and unusual) to be treated like adults by a film. Overall though, it is the story and Vera herself that make the film so involving, the story is well framed and the workshop approach has produced some very good performances, particularly from Staunton, who outshines all others nominated alongside her in the Oscars. Deserves to be seen by larger audiences than it has had thus far, but just don't expect it to be fast-paced, fun or gripping – it is much more than that.

Being kind, no matter how.

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 6 November 2004]

The key for understanding the character of Vera Drake is "dear". Vera is one of the kindest souls one will ever see in pictures in a long, long time. Vera Drake is a woman who will go out of her way to be of use to anyone that needs her. In fact, one's initial reaction to Mrs. Drake's activities is one of complete disbelief.

Mike Leigh has created a film that, although not easy to sit through, is one of the finest movies that have come out of the English cinema in a long time. This director keeps getting better with every new film. The subject of the film is something that has been at the heart of the recent elections in the USA. With the new climate in this country it's easy to see that situations like the ones we see in the story, could well be the norm here in a not too distant future.

The main, and perhaps the only, reason for watching this extraordinary film is the portrayal of Vera by that wonderful actress, Imelda Staunton. Her Vera is an example a person who can't say no to anyone in need. There is a scene when Vera is first confronted by the police during a dinner at her house where we see her face as charges are hurled at her, then little by little, Ms. Staunton breaks down in what is one of the great moments in acting by any actress in living memory. One can see her eyes fill with tears because it suddenly dawns on Vera the immensity of what she has done.

The action takes place in 1950 in a London still ravaged by the effect of WWII. The film recreates the era with great details. Vera's flat is so tiny, one wonders how can four grown up people live in such cramped quarters. Even though they are poor, the Drake household is happy, as they all live together without apparently getting on each other's nerves. Both children, Ethel and Sid are well behaved; they both love their parents. Stan and Vera love one another in a subdued, but caring way. Is it possible that Vera could be the monster she is accused of being?

The film also makes a point of the contrast between the humble way in which the Drakes live and the rich houses where Vera goes to work every day. Vera's home is tiny and the others are so well appointed, it is only natural to assume that Vera will bear a resentment toward her employers, but on the contrary, she is a dignified woman who makes do with her meager wages.

There is also the irony about how Susan Wells, the daughter of one of Vera's employers, goes through the same thing that the other girls that Vera "helps", and everything is done in a civilized way. Mr. Leigh shows us in this case how things are different because Susan is able to buy a solution to her problem and deal with it safely.

The ensemble cast is marvelous. Imelda Staunton dominates the movie. We can't take our eyes away from the dowdy and plain woman we see on the screen. Phil Davis as Stan, Vera's husband, is excellent. Alex Kelly plays the mousy daughter Ethel, who never utters a word; this actress makes her real. Daniel Mays is Sid, the son who can't understand what his mother has done. Eddie Marsan as Reg, makes his character believable.

The film is a triumph for Mike Leigh.

Heartbreakingly Brilliant Acting: Mike Leigh's Finest Film

[lawprof · 10/10 · 10 October 2004]

Winner of the Best Film Award at the Venice Film Festival, director Mike Leigh's "Vera Drake" is the agonizing story of a stolid, working class London married woman who leads two lives. Vera is Imelda Staunton who won, most deservedly, the Best Actress accolade in Venice. To her beloved and loving family, she's the soul of gentleness, the centerpiece of a happy home. She works as a day domestic for people a few rungs up on England's highly striated social ladder.

But for many years, the exact number known not even to her, she's been the answer to the prayers of poor and lower class pregnant women who will not or can not carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. With a crude abortion kit, including a cheese grater identical to the one in my kitchen, hidden in a cupboard, she accepts referrals from childhood friend Lily (Ruth Sheen), a viper whose mendacity and viciousness Vera never suspects.

Vera's family hasn't a clue about her long-time passion to end unwanted pregnancies.

But abortion isn't the scene that launches the story of the Drake family. She has two children, Ethel (wonderfully played by Alex Kelly) and Sid. Husband Stan (Phil Davis) is a car mechanic working for wages for his brother, one step up the economic ladder although his materialistic wife threatens to upset that status with her coy demands for the latest appliances.

Vera regularly visits the sick and provides cheer and hot tea for the ill ones. She invites Reg (Eddie Marsan) for dinner. Her agenda is clear: she hopes her hopelessly dorky Ethel and the awkward and mumbling Reg might hit it off. Both Marsan and Kelly are strong contenders for next year's Best Supporting Nerd Oscar nominations.

But Vera's abortion activities are the heart of the tense story. She performs these procedures gratis, getting referrals from Lily, never suspecting that her acid-tongued friend is paid by the pregnant women. They're cautioned not to mention the financial arrangement to Vera who does the job and bears the true mantle of risk.

"Vera Drake" takes place in 1950 when still very war weary Britain was fighting with the U.S. in Korea. All the males in the story in one way or another were scarred or affected by World War II experiences and that was not an easy time for the women either. Stan continues distilling his combat experiences in slow confessions to his supportive and loving wife in bed with lights out.

Abortion in 1950 in England was legal under some conditions one of which was being of the class that could easily (with money and connections) procure false medical testimony as to the need for terminating a pregnancy. None of Vera's patients (I can't call them anything else), desperate, fearful, facing enormous ostracism or worse if their condition became known to family and friends, had that access.

Vera, with each "procedure," gently approaches the frightened and dependent women with the cheer appropriate for an ordinary visit to a friend afflicted with the usually benign flu. Perhaps she doesn't truly comprehend their fear of being alone after her ministration to them when she leaves with almost bubbly instructions to await the fetus's expulsion, a frightening experience especially if alone, but with no plan to return. She's efficient, using a relatively safe non-surgical abortifacient. Somewhat safe, by the law of averages, isn't in the long run good enough and one young woman almost dies.

Her mother, who knew Vera from before the war, is questioned by police called by the hospital and she gives up her 1931 co-worker.

The police interrupt a family celebration to question and arrest Vera. She knows immediately why they are there and she both crumbles emotionally, devastated, while also displaying a quiet inner strength to insist, in a soft, sobbing voice, that she just helps girls in trouble.

Leigh, who also wrote "Vera Drake, invests his lead character with a gripping vulnerability as well as a fundamental unyielding decency. Even the investigating police officers recognize she isn't a typical criminal. Burly Detective Inspector Webster (Peter Wight) is soon uncomfortable with what he has to do and he even spontaneously softens part of Vera's confession as it's written down by a junior colleague. Woman Police Constable Best (subtly played by Helen Coker) is gentle, truly kind, and one wonders whether this character would have had something supportive to say about Vera were she freed from her uniform.

Vera's services fell squarely within the Offenses Against the Person Act 1861 (and I'm very familiar with that statute having taught it many times in Criminal Law and Legal History classes). Courtroom scenes here, brief as they are, accurately reflect what a defendant confronted in His Majesty's tribunals.

Leigh's camera work, as in the wonderful "Topsy-Turvy," angles in on Vera as she grasps the unfolding horror of her situation and the inevitability of a prison sentence. She struggles to remain the emotional center of her family when she, in reality, desperately needs shoring up. Vera is projected into the viewer's face for long shots and her terror is hurting to see.

The arrant hypocrisy of England's sub rosa view of abortion at the time is displayed quietly but unforgettably as the daughter of one of Vera's customers, her father a Ministry of Defense civil servant, gets an abortion in a luxurious and safe facility (for 100 guineas, a fortune at that time) after being savagely raped by a date, a foppish cad. Without anything being said, the viewer knows he was never reproached much less arraigned for his bestiality. But his victim, Susan (Sally Hawkins), follows a script set up by a doctor and reinforced by a psychiatrist (wink-wink) that insures that her weekend away from home is discreet. Traumatic the rape was, unsettling the abortion too but for her life goes on with scarcely a bump.

Frumpy, a woman no one would notice on the Clapham omnibus, Imelda Staunton as Vera is the heart and soul of the film, her desperation at becoming embroiled with the law almost too heartbreaking at times to watch. But Leigh also makes sure that it's understood that illegal abortions posed high risks to vulnerable women. Hidebound English legal practice made criminals of women like Vera but police, prosecutors and judges also knew that their activities too often spawned some true and irreversible tragedies, including death. Leigh doesn't skip away from that reality. The Veras of her time were both benefactresses and potential killers.

The male characters in Vera's family rally around her, their love and commitment a bright spot. The police come out well too. But there's no avoiding the reality that man-made (literally) law and those who enforced it, including the sympathetic but duty-bound police, put many women in the dock where conviction was virtually insured. And, certainly, many abortionists used far more dangerous methods than Vera.

Sometimes agonizing to watch but endlessly riveting, "Vera Drake" is one of the finest films from England in years. It's not a British counterpart to "The Cider House Rules" where Michael Caine's dashing devotion to his patients and to young, orphaned boys in bucolic New England subtly removed the issue of laws restricting abortions from front and center attention. "Vera Drake" is raw and affecting. It's truly not so much pro-choice as it is a retelling, through one sympathetic character, of many very sad tales.

10/10

A Superb Staunton But Desultory Tone Wears Thin

[EUyeshima · 6/10 · 23 March 2006]

Nobody captures working class England and its socially reticent inhabitants better than director/screenwriter Mike Leigh does. He brings a deeply felt authenticity to post-WWII London in the set-up of his rather controversial story, and one needs to give credit to Leigh for not turning the film into a polemic about abortion. At the same time though, the movie clocks in at over two hours, and its unrelenting bleakness has a wearing effect especially since Leigh takes a decidedly episodic approach to his story. The title character is a simple, frumpy woman, so kind-hearted that she thinks nothing of tending to those she sees as less fortunate, whether they be her mother, her invalid neighbor or the parade of mainly young girls who find themselves with unwanted pregnancies. Vera sees no distinction when it comes to helping these people selflessly, and to her immediate family, especially her loving husband, she is nothing less than a saint beyond reproach. Leigh takes his time in establishing this fact, too much time really, and pacing is part of the movie's problem. It appears that he is intent on showing how matter-of-fact her illegal abortion practice is compared to her everyday activities with her family. To some degree, the juxtaposition of scenes maximizes the later drama of consequences and ramifications, but the results are uneven because there is nothing remotely surprising about what happens to her.

The second half of the movie does develop a compelling emotionalism thanks to a stunning turn by Imelda Staunton. Until the moment she is arrested, Vera seems almost like a British version of Betty White's character on "The Golden Girls", all apple-cheeked optimism offering a cup of tea to soothe everyone's worries. However, when Vera realizes what is happening to her, Staunton effectively uses an expression of glazed shock followed by an implosion of endless crying jags to illuminate the inner turmoil of her character. For the most part, it's an economical performance, and yet thanks to Staunton, one never questions the sheer anguish her character is experiencing. The other actors are quite good, in particular, Phil Davis as her unsuspecting mechanic husband Stan; Daniel Mays as her enterprising son Sid, a men's store salesman; Peter Wight as the guardedly sympathetic inspector; and as two unlikely lovebirds, Alex Kelly as her hopelessly lumpish daughter Ethel and Eddie Marsan as the schlubby bachelor upstairs. In fact, his proposal scene to Ethel is a charming moment in their fumbling realization of their need for each other. Another keenly observed scene is one in which Sid deftly massages a middle-class customer's heartfelt desire to look like a swell at an important function. These are the moments in the movie that feel the most truthful, and Leigh excels at directing such scenes without pretension.

The aim of the film is sound. Leigh wants to exalt the heroism of abortion providers during an era of extreme repression, and he makes sure to be true to the psychology of the working class at that time. Consequently it is compelling how he keeps Vera inarticulate during the most dramatic moments, even when she's being interrogated and realizes a prison sentence is at hand. What I didn't appreciate as much is how Leigh uses certain characters simply to move the plot along only to drop them later, for instance, the character of Susan and her plight are introduced simply as a counterpoint to Vera's method, showing how the rich took care of their abortions. There is the revelation that Vera's friend selfishly pocketed money from the pregnant girls all those years, and we are robbed of a confrontation scene that should have occurred between her and Vera about it. One could watch the movie to savor the acting, but truth be told, the film is probably about half an hour too long, as one scene after another signals the end of this desultory story. Despite Staunton's stellar performance, I have to admit I felt relieved when it was all over.

10/10

[desperateliving · 10/10 · 20 November 2004]

Along with Abbas Kiarostami, Mike Leigh must be the finest film artist now living. He sets up the story here very smartly; it's Altmanesque the way that the lives intertwine. And like Altman, the film has an observational style (the camera sits still as people walk about the house), though without his cynical humor. (There is one comic relief character, however, who Vera's son measures for tailoring.) The story is craftily put-together -- Leigh, for all his realism, isn't above cinema: he's not against creating a scene. His entire movie is a build-up to individual looks and faces; one especially fine scene is laid out incredibly well: we see a car pull up outside; inside, we get the news that someone is going to have a baby; then a knock at the door... What sets him apart from many so-called realists is that he's not an inept moviemaker. Even though a number of the scenes are complete of themselves and incredibly well-wrought, none of them are "scenes"; the only hint of cinematic flair that Leigh indulges in are the recurring motifs of heavenly music. The film is not traditional realism in terms of acting, either -- the actors all have a very distinct look that has to do with the way they're shot, but each character, each actor, seems alive in such a way that isn't theatrical or exaggerated or false, but still animated. There is an unflinching dedication to emotional consistency and detail (such as the mechanics of the abortions), but it always remains humane (without ever turning sentimental); when one woman is raped, Leigh doesn't linger on the scene, he doesn't really even show anything.

Leigh makes few political points in the film. (No doubt conservatives would see the film as a horror story, this woman creeping around from house to house.) It is not an "issue" movie. It is much more about families and people, and how they support one of their own; it could just as easily about someone accused of child molestation, or who assisted suicides. The miracle of the film is that the catalyst for the emotional breakdown, the abortions, aren't just a device, they're a whole, complete film in their own right. It's what gives certain images such immediate, painful power. His film, planned as it is, consists of events that are completely random and unforeseeable to the characters, even though we, the audience expect them (it only serves to make them more devastating that we see it coming). We see an abortion; we see a couple get engaged; we see a rape; we see that someone is expecting a baby. Leigh has empathy for everyone in the film, and with the exception of three women -- Vera's sister in law, the woman who procures Vera's "patients," and the mother of one of the girls who she performs an abortion for -- he doesn't turn anyone into a villain. Even one horrific psychiatrist interview grows into something where we realize, haughty as he is, he's not exactly "out to get" this girl who wants help (although the scene hits home the difference involved in getting abortions performed by doctors and on the street).

Sometimes the film is a little too obvious, as when Vera's son can't deal with what she's done, effectively sticking the knife in her (and us). And you could complain that Staunton, in the second half, is ordered to put on a blank face, as if she's had a stroke. But it's a simple view to see her as a smiling happy person in the first part and then a wrecked creature in the second -- there is always something interesting in her performance, completely aside from the looks on her face (one such, when the police ask to see her, is the best image of the human face in years). In the beginning she uses her teeth in a very interesting way, and though she's referred to as a woman with a heart of gold (and while I'm not saying she isn't) there's something more in her performance, something indescribable -- it's why she never stops to comfort the women she "helps out." What prevents the film from being a display of the miserable, like Lars von Trier at his worst, is Leigh's innate connection to the legacy of the great humanists, that of hope -- not false, optimistic hope, but hope in something bigger (and more intimate): the human soul. 10/10

A compelling and deeply emotional movie about love and kindness.

[daniel-desilva · 7/10 · 21 February 2005]

Britain's very own Vera Drake makes a thriving cinematic triumph across the region this week as this box office classic fills auditoriums.

From the award winning writer and director, Mike Leigh has created an emotional masterpiece that should be watched by every genuine movie fan.

The story is set in Britain during the 1950s when the country was recovering from the aftermath of world war two. Vera Drake is a caring mother and devoted wife performing illegal back street abortions to those in need. Her life is thrown into turmoil when one of her patients nearly dies and the police call to investigate. Is this a loving woman who just wants to help others or a confused criminal scared by a turbulent past?

With a fairly small and unknown cast my first impressions of the film were completely mistaken by the phenomenal acting that took place before my eyes. Vera appears to be a heart of gold just offering cups of tea to those young, innocent girls who have nowhere to go.

Imelda Staunton's BAFTA winning portrayal of Vera is very moving and should be remembered for many years to come. Many people may remember the actress from minor roles in Shakespeare in Love and David Copperfield.

I was also impressed with Richard Graham as Vera's husband, George whose affection for his wife is a sign of true love, also watch out for a cameo appearance of Jim Broadbent as the judge who decides Vera's fate.

This film may be a little depressing but very powerful and evocatively beautiful as the cast work together in a way I have not seen in cinema before. This is quite simply academy award winning potential and will continue to raise many important questions about the much controversial abortion debate.

See this film even if it's the last one you'll see, as this will have an impact on everyone's lives.

The most powerful female performance of the year

[gregsrants · 9/10 · 18 October 2004]

I don't think I need to fear rolling pins being thrown in my general direction when I say that powerful women roles are few and far between in Moviedom. That is not to say that there aren't any, it's just that it is rare for a female performance to blow you away in any projector driven screening. This is due more to Hollywood's reluctance to create interesting and powerful roles for the female elite than the actresses' ability themselves. Where studio honchos salivate over the next Jack Nicholson powerhouse or Anthony Hopkins costume drama, there are far far too few Charlize Theron's Monster to counter.

However, leave it up to Mike Leigh to try and correct this trend. In 1996, he wrote and directed the wonderful Secrets & Lies, and his writing for the women leads was so strong, that the Academy awarded nominations for both Best Actress (Brenda Blethyn) and Supporting Actress (Marianne Jean-Baptiste). Now in 2004, Leigh has given us the strongest performance by a male or female of the year with Imelda Staunton as the title character in the new film Vera Drake.

Vera Drake is the story a family in 1950's London. Vera is the Motherhead and she is the jack-of-all-trades within the community. Her days are spend stopping in on elderly people to help them with their lunch, working a various estates as a cleaning lady, slaving at a light bulb producing factory and most notably, as a caring individual who helps young and poor women terminate unwanted pregnancies.

However, if you were to ask Vera Drake what her role was, she would probably admit to being a mother first – a caregiver to her husband and two children.

A selfless woman who has little time for herself and therefore little time to digest the consequences of her illegal actions. Vera is goes about every bit of her business, whether she is down on her knees cleaning the brass around a fireplace or helping a woman perform an abortion without a frown and usually with a smile on her face, a whistling tune on her lips and the kettle on the stove.

Vera's family are equally lovable individuals. Her husband, Geroge (Phil Davis) works with his brother at an automobile repair shop. Her son Sid works as the local tailor and her daughter is a soft spoken lass who falls for a local man Vera invites over to dinner as a kind gesture. Together they make the quintessential family unit that we all envisioned 1950's households to encompass.

But when a local girl has a bad reaction to a Drake endorsed abortion, their world is turned on end. An investigation by the local police lead them to Vera's door on the night of celebration due to her daughters engagement. And as the police take Vera to the local booking station for a statement and sentencing, Imelda Staunton does her best work through the tears and expressions mirroring the suffering at the anguish she has put her family through.

Vera Drake might just be the best picture to be viewed by this critic this year. The characters are so robust and real that every time Vera put the kettle on for a cup of tea, you would think she is doing it for everyone in the audience. We become captivated by their lives and interested in the effects the events have on the family unit. The writing is crisp and you can imagine these people saying these things to one another – a gift not often bestowed upon moviegoers in such a powerful form.

Director Mike Leigh deserves most of the credit. He transforms Vera in front of us and manages to take an illegal action that is generally taboo in conversation and shows us the innocent side of the argument where rich people pay large sums of money to go specialists, but the poor and equally needy require the services of a local underground network. As someone who sits on one side of the abortion issue, I was amazed at the conclusion of the film how non-preaching and argumentative the film ended up being. Vera goes about her business like a friend helping out someone in need. She deals not in the politics or the societal view of her task but rather as someone just doing what is best for those found in situations where this solution is the only viable option.

Leigh's writing and directing however are overshadowed by the incredible performance by Imelda Staunton. This maybe the first film that I can remember where a female should win an Academy Award for a role that didn't harbor any speeches into the camera or voice over dramatization of the situation. With that, I give Vera Drake a very strong recommendation.

www.gregsrants.com

"Wife, Mother, and Criminal"

[jmille42 · 7/10 · 19 July 2005]

If it wasn't for my current film class, I would have been deprived of seeing Mike Leigh's production of Vera Drake. Imelda Staunton plays the extremely loving mother and wife in 1950's Britain (She was nominated for an Academy Award this past year for her role as Drake). The story revolves around the humble middle class Drake family, who work hard for their money and enjoy the time they spend with one another. But Vera has a secret job. She performs abortions for local girls who cannot manage being parents. Her actions are met with terrible consequences as one of her patients nearly dies after the procedure, sending the local police on her tail.

What makes the story so captivating is how Leigh can take an elderly mother, with nothing but love to give, and show how the "cultural norm" can tear her and her family to pieces. She accepts no money for her services and does not even refer to the process as an abortion, just simply "help." The viewer feels so connected to Drake and her cause, despite the pro-life surroundings we live in these modern times.

Leigh uses his trademark style, making it as if the viewer is literally spying on these characters because of how real the situation and people are. Just as he did with Secrets and Lies, no big stars are used in the cast. Yet he always seems to have someone nominated for an Academy Award in his films.

It is not Leigh's goal with this picture to portray a monster, fighting against all laws and popular beliefs (It is more like seeing your sweetest grandma arrested for stealing a loaf of bread in order to feed her family). Drake is a much respected and admirable woman, which is easily seen by how the local government and police force treat her in captivity. But as the tagline for the film suggests, she will ever be known as a "Wife, Mother, and Criminal."

Haunting and engrossing performance by Staunton

[rosscinema · 8/10 · 28 November 2004]

The simplicity that this film achieves is where it's strength is gained and the manner in which the director uses his actors allows the audience to actually feel the same emotions as the characters. Story takes place in London in the 1950's where families are still struggling to piece together their lives following the war but one chipper woman named Vera Drake (Emelda Staunton) spends her time helping others. Vera works cleaning the homes of the rich and also manages to pop in on sick and bedridden people that need care but she's equally adored by her husband Stan (Phil Davis) and her two adult children. Also, once or twice a week she performs illegal abortions on women that need "help".

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Vera is handed a name and address by Lily (Ruth Sheen) who gets money for organizing these procedures but doesn't pay Vera anything as she does this for the sake of helping those in need. One day during dinner the Drake's are visited by the police who arrest Vera after an abortion goes wrong and a girl almost dies and this leaves the family in total shock as they never knew she was doing this. With her family sitting by and being supportive the court agrees that Vera is not a threat to do this again and even though many rely on her care this doesn't stop the judge (Jim Broadbent) from making an example of her.

This film is directed by the great Mike Leigh (Naked, Secrets & Lies, Topsy-Turvy) who has shown considerable skill in filming intimate stories about the English working class. Leigh also is known to structure his stories around the improvisations of his actors and with this film he didn't tell them the secret involving Vera so when they first hear about her performing abortions their reactions are (for the most part) real. This film is designed to be told in a very simplistic and honest manner for realism and it works completely on that level but it's biggest strength comes from the perfect casting of Staunton. With Staunton's wonderful face this film can be looked at in two halves with the first half showing that never ending smile and displaying her infectious upbeat personality but once the police enter her home her face becomes a mask of guilt and shame. One of the most indelible images in film in recent years is the look that Staunton gives when the police show up which will change her and her family forever. It's a powerful moment and in it's own quiet manner this film is more powerful than any loud action film that gets churned out by Hollywood on a regular basis. This film doesn't take a stand on abortion one way or another because that's not what it's about, instead, audiences are given the privilege of viewing an extremely strong film aided by an amazing performance by Staunton.

Surprisingly Underwhelming

[smakawhat · 6/10 · 25 October 2004]

As much as Mike Leigh has wonderfully captured the bleakness of post cold war middle class England, he has also made not much of a story for us to ponder.

Much of this film is left unsaid, and as wonderful as the cast is and the great lead performance, much of the power and passion that could be aroused in this film is left untouched. The sideline of the story of Ethel does provide some other avenue for us to look at it, but it also seems a distraction from keeping the viewer away from the real heart of the matter in the film. That is probably the thing that I left the theatre most from this film, in that it was rather unremarkable and ended just as underwhelmingly.

Rating 6 out of 10

A moving film with great acting but totally self-indulgent film-making

[wexfeld · 4/10 · 16 April 2005]

As a period-piece film of 1950 Britain, the film has an authenticity that is remarkable. And the acting all around is superb. But the first half drifts a lot with whole scenes that do not advance the film at all, and the second half is worse: an unremittingly grim series of scenes of people staring at each other, with a few tears or grunts thrown in. I can't recall another movie with such long scenes of people staring at each other, crying, or simply so moved emotionally that they are unable to talk, nor one where the small amount of action takes forever to occur and is then repeated several times. There are other ways to convey strong emotion in a movie, and if the filmmaker feels that total resignation, tears, and grunts are the only way to do that, a few minutes of it (not 45 minutes or so) is sufficient. In short, this is self-indulgent film-making, with no sense of economy or of the need to move a story forward, rather than repeat the obvious over and over.

A Mature director in command.

[justin1-1 · 25 November 2004]

I have been a longtime fan of Mike Leigh, always fascinated to see his slice of life take on England. Because of his well known creative process, the intrigue would be to see the actors and the characters and dramas (and comedies) they created. They were always worth watching in a voyeuristic way due to Leigh's unobtrusive camera work.

Vera Drake is well worth seeing for these same reasons, but Leigh has made a bigger and better movie than ever before, even with all of Topsy Turvy's bombast. His ambitions as director are greater than ever. First of all, to take on the subject of abortion is very brave. But I'll leave that for others to discuss. What was of interest to me from the opening shot was that this was going to be a visual tour de force, and it was.

Painting the scenes in dark, crushing browns and greens, with tight camera angles or letting the light in, each scene had the feel of a well thought out canvas, even the cut aways between scenes were new, inventive and beautiful.

And the acting is great and the scenes of the family interacting in close quarters, moving in synch are so pitch perfect you feel they have been doing this for decades.

So if you're thinking of seeing this movie, sit back, relax, and prepare to be taken on a slow, masterful ride.

Outstanding characterisation and a lovingly crafted slice of British history - with traumatic and harrowing subject matter

[Chris_Docker · 9/10 · 8 January 2005]

Vera Drake is a film where ordinary, hard-working families from mid-20th century England are charismatically recreated with astonishing attention to detail. The courting rituals, the black market, the nuclear family, the living conditions and the bonds between people who had lost loved ones in the war are captured with a feeling of authenticity. Imelda Staunton portrays eponymous loving wife and mother who has a very dark secret. I found myself so pulled in by her performance that, for most of the film, I was unaware of 'acting' - only the remarkable woman that is the film's centrepiece. Going to see Vera Drake is one of those experiences that leaves you shaken and profoundly concerned.

(spoilers follow on the theme of the movie and its moral tone, but most viewers will be aware of this before they see it)

Director Mike Leigh has pulled off a remarkable coup in choreographing his characters so that their surprise seems utterly genuine when the revelations about Vera's private life start to unfold. A hard-working cleaning lady by day, a devoted wife and mother the rest of the time (and Vera even looks after her sick mother on top of her other duties), this paragon of working class excellence is also an unpaid abortionist for a little while at five o'clock on a Friday - or occasionally at other times. Her friendly matter-of-fact approach to 'helping young women' is disarming, both in her bedside manner and in almost drawing us in to accepting that something is happening without having to know the details. But know we do, right down to the suction pump and cheese-grater for carbolic soap that are her stock-in-trade.

Yet the shock value is still largely from what is unexpressed or unseen, whether it is the ablutions Vera performs on folk, or the first stages of an over amorous advance that we are all too horribly aware will end in date rape. This is a film that is driven by superb acting, meticulous set recreation and a very believable script. It would have been easy to do the same story relying on hack sensationalism, but Leigh's approach is more that of the artist near the height of power.

The history and legislation on abortion developed in Britain in an almost unique way, largely as successive measures in harm-reduction, and is maybe worth mentioning to clarify the backdrop in which the film is set. Until the Abortion Act of 1967, the law of Offences Against the Person Act was rigorously applied and criminalised any abortion or attempted abortion - even, say, prosecuting a 13-year old girl who attempted to induce an abortion on herself by taking laxatives and sitting in a hot bath. The only way out was a defence by a doctor that he acted to save the life or health of the mother. In the film, this is demonstrated by an upper class girl who is granted an abortion at a cost of 100 guineas (reduced from 150 pounds). The financial pressure this created is put in context when we are told that a television, considered an unattainable luxury by Vera's family, cost 36 quid, or that the 2 guineas charged by Vera's middle-man was a vast sum for poorer women. The Abortion Act of 1967 (16 years after Vera's crime) allowed an abortion to be performed under certain conditions and was introduced to bring uniformity to the law, to clarify the law for doctors, and to stem the misery and deaths resulting from unhygienic, risky, and illegal abortions. Before 1967, thousands of women were victims of botched abortions. The legislation, rather than taking sides on the moral issues, simply tried to make a terrible situation less terrible. Perhaps it is for this reason that although abortion has always been controversial in Britain, it has not attracted the sometimes violent confrontation that has characterised the debate in the USA.

Remarkably, Leigh's film doesn't appear to take sides either. It's the heartfelt differences of opinion in the characters when everything comes to light that make us more aware of how genuine the different views on the subject really are. Even Vera's sister in law, portrayed through most of the film as quite a heartless character I felt, was seen as more sympathetic when we realise she simply wanted a Christmas at home with her husband, and nothing to do with the law-breaking Vera. Britain's Pro-Life Alliance Party, in a press release, gave the film a cautious welcome, though some people have branded the character an 'abortion loving witch' simply because Vera wins us over as is a nice person before we find out her secret. Most people, I think, will find the film very intellectually stimulating though, and feel that a wide range of views and situations were incorporated into this brave piece of cinema that successfully portrays a pivotal epoch in British history.

The English are best.

[scobie · 10/10 · 8 February 2005]

Thank heavens for Mike Leigh, because you sure wouldn't see an American film with a serial abortionist as the heroine.

The movie is set in 1950, and Vera Drake has been "helping out" young pregnant women for so long she's not even sure when she started. And she really does see herself as helping out; she won't use the A word. Her clients are not all young, mind you. There is the poor woman, for example, with six or seven children already and a sick husband, who can't bear the thought of another. Nor are they all helpless or innocent - one has had at least one before - or even poor, although most certainly are. The cost is two guineas, but Vera takes no pay - the money going to her "abortion pimp", who also deals in rationed consumer goods for a profit.

Vera truly has a heart of gold. I really can't think of a movie character - leaving aside that Jesus fellow - more selfless or altruistic. What is remarkable is that, in part because of Leigh's naturalistic script and in part because of Imelda Staunton's extraordinary performance - you never for a moment doubt the truth of that claim. When Vera is arrested after one of her syringe and soapy water abortions finally goes wrong, almost killing a young woman, she is not thinking of herself but of the effect on her family.

And this is when this already beautiful film gets even more heartbreakingly sublime. Her husband, his brother, her daughter, even the daughter's hapless fiancé stand by her without question. Only her son is appalled, thinking that she has done something not only wrong but "dirty"; but his father shows him that he must forgive his mother, as she would forgive him. And so he does. Only the brother-in-law's wife, a woman with airs, condemns Vera. Tellingly, she is also a materialist.

For this movie is mostly about the virtue of the working class, another reason why it is impossible to conceive of it in an American version. Is what Vera did wrong? I don't think so, but even if you do, there is no denying that only the poor paid the price of unwanted pregnancy when abortion was a crime. The rich, as we see in the case of desperate young woman who is date raped, get a referral over tea at a tony restaurant, see a Harley Street doctor, get a dispensation from a winking psychiatrist, and have the deed done in a posh sanatorium.

In addition to Staunton, the whole cast is wonderful. Special kudos go to Philip Davis as Stan, the husband. This is the best picture of 2004.

Well acted, minutely observed but something's lacking

[tohu · 6/10 · 15 May 2007]

Vera Drake is about a woman who believed that - in performing backstreet abortions - she was doing the right thing. The simplicity of her life belies the massive significance of what she does, and the drama here is about what happens when the paternalistic society in which she lives finally - inevitably - catches up with her.

This film will probably challenge your morals on abortion, whichever view you take. That's because it is clever and subtle enough to present all sides sympathetically - yet without preaching on behalf of any of them. The full horrors of what is involved in the abortion act itself is not glossed over. Yet there is never any doubt that Vera herself is a fundamentally good woman who spends her whole life doing good works, making sacrifices to look after others.

I found it quite hard to categorise this film. I almost gave it a 5 but I decided it scrapes a 6 on the basis of some fine acting (particularly Imelda Staunton's central performance) and painstakingly-observed 1950s period detail. But somehow there is something lacking. Perhaps in playing it subtle they almost hold back too much. I wanted to like it more. But it's not, in the end, as good as it should be.

Vera Drake: 6/10

[movieguy1021 · 6/10 · 23 October 2004]

If I may go on a small political rant here: whenever there's a movie with a political stance, the other side fights it. Yet when there's a movie that deals with the same topic neutrally, no one's fighting it. I think then the conclusion is that political pundits don't care about issues, just about spouting their side on it (like that's anything new?). What I'm trying to get at here is that abortion is one of the hot topics in the coming election, yet there hasn't been basically any debate over the topic when it's portrayed in Vera Drake, Best Film winner at the Venice Film Festival. I remember a lot of talk about The Life of David Gale's death-penalty themes. But nothing about poor IL' Vera Drake. Why is that? I have no clue. Maybe they just didn't want to see the movie. I can understand why.

Imelda Staunton plays the title character, a woman growing up in 1950s England. She always extends a helping hand to whoever needs it. She lives with her husband Stan (Phil Davis), grown children Sid (Daniel Mays) and Ethel (Alex Kelly, who has to win some sort of award), and Reg (Eddie Marsan), whom Vera forced to live with them because he was living alone. This seemingly happy family has one skeleton in the closet (don't they all?) that only Vera knows about-for the last 20 or so years, she's been illegally performing abortions to lower class women who can't afford, or don't want, a(nother) baby. The secret would tear the family apart, but it's well hidden until the police come.

So, Vera Drake is basically an Oscar movie. It's a drama, it's somewhat of a costume drama/period piece, it deals with a controversial topic in a deliberate nonpartisan way...what else could the Academy like more? Hopefully they'll honor Staunton's amazing performance, but that's it. The film is disjointed, scenes go on for too long, and the cinematography is pretty bad. The first half of the movie is great-we see these characters, we get to know about them, we get to like these characters. We understand that what Vera's doing (at least in her own mind) is the right thing to do. We feel sympathetic to what she's doing, and we follow Vera 100%. The subplots are fine, and the movie is generally interesting. But then the whole thing changes once Vera is discovered. Each and every scene is either unnecessary or overlong. Vera seems to have one facial expression throughout the last half, everything that was interesting about the first half just became boring and overlong. Some of the subplots that came up in the first half disappeared. Things like that.

The music was few and far between, and was pretty much the same throughout. Some more would have been great, especially during the plodding, overlong scenes in the second half. And oftentimes the cinematography was too simple. I don't remember the camera moving much at all. I suppose it's some sort of reference to the simple life that Vera and co. live, but it's obnoxious. It's almost like writer/director Mike Leigh is hitting that over our heads. I suppose the last half is to show the mental deterioration that the process has on Vera, but where is Leigh putting the blame? On the police force, which he fills with sympathetic characters? Requiem for a Dream did this deterioration much better, and Ellen Burstyn was nominated for an Oscar for her role in it. I sure hope that Staunton is nominated. She's easily the best part of the movie and makes us all believe that she's Vera Drake. Her job is amazing here. But amazing is not something I could say about the rest of the movie. I guess it's kind of like Maria Full of Grace. It's definitely not as depressing or as good as it thinks it is.

My rating: 6/10

Rated R for depiction of strong thematic material.

An important, worthy and moving film

[melissaxmiller · 10/10 · 7 March 2015]

Abortion became legal in the UK 1968. As David Steel, sponsor of the private member's bill that became the legalising act of Parliament, wisely pointed out 'abortion did not begin in 1968'. Women have always limited the number of babies they choose to have. It was just that before 1968 these methods were illegal and often horrific. The method practised by Vera Drake in this film, pouring soapy water into the womb to terminate the pregnancy, was a popular one. It was effective and generally safe. Generally not always. Other methods used by women included drinking a bottle of whisky and rolling down the stairs. Women would push knitting needles into their wombs and similar horrors. Their desperation to abort was such. Surely no-one wants a return to this? Heterosexual women have every right to an active sex life and to limit the number of children they have. As the film points out for the rich and well-connected there were always doctors willing to perform safe if illegal abortions for money. It was always the poor but no less sexually active and fertile women who had to resort to women like Vera Drake. The struggle for women's reproductive rights continues and the hysterical anti-abortionists have not given up in the least. (They are not 'Pro-life', they are pro-death penalty, pro-nuclear weapons, pro-war in almost any form.) Women are not mere breeding machines for men despite some reactionary men wishing they were. A slogan once went "If men became pregnant abortion would be a sacrament." Every child should be a wanted child. There is no shortage of unwanted babies needing parents to adopt them. Indeed there is an oversupply. The natural sex drive of the young is such that there will always be some unwanted pregnancies although hopefully less and less as sex education becomes more widespread and contraceptives more readily available, but always some. Hence there will always be a need for safe free and legal abortions, hopefully as early as possible in the pregnancy. We should all be grateful to Mike Leigh for this thoughtful film reminding us of the bad old days which surely no sensible people would wish us to return to.

Earnest kitchen sink drama featuring good performances

[colettesplace · 6/10 · 25 February 2006]

In London, 1950, Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is one of the respectable poor in a milieu still struggling under rationing and dealing with other after-effects of WWII. A woman who instinctively "brings teacups and rolls away headaches", Vera cleans houses by day, visits the elderly, cares for her family, and manages to fit the odd backyard abortion in between. Like Vera herself, her operations are brisk, well-meant, charitable, sanitary without being hygienic and seemingly inevitable, given the circumstances. If Vera were not performing this service, then someone else would, as is demonstrated when she "helps" a poor woman with seven children who cannot afford an eighth.

In a multi award-winning film that's dedicated to his doctor father and midwife father, writer-director Mike Leigh (Secrets and Lies, Topsy Turvy) delivers a perfect time capsule, distinguished by the performance of its ensemble cast. In particular, the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated Staunton impresses as Vera, from her bustling beginnings to the emotional wreck she is after her arrest. Once discovered by the police, her bravura unravelling gives the rest of the cast not only the opportunity to develop their characters but to express different attitudes towards abortion.

Unlike in the recent film Closer, the attitudes the characters express evolve directly from their personalities. It seems hypocritical that her draper son Sid (Daniel Mays) describes what she does as "dirty", when he deals in black market stockings to help his mates seduce young women. Contrast that with the reaction of Reg (Eddie Marsan), the bachelor neighbour whom Vera's nudging into a relationship with her wallflower daughter Ethel (Alex Kelly). Vera's loyal husband George (Richard Graham) won a BAFTA and was also Oscar-nominated for his strong performance.

There's such poverty depicted here that it's difficult for modern Australians to comprehend, accustomed as we are to dishwashers, microwaves, always having at least something to eat. Even the most evil character – Vera's avaricious friend Lily, who profits from Vera's voluntary "good deeds" – only does so to spend the money on food. And Vera herself is depicted as a pure soul, somewhat similar to Dogville's Grace (played by Nicole Kidman), generous with her time, not expecting anything in return, never too tired to help. Because of this, the audience can judge her actions in isolation.

Despite requiring a little editing towards the end, Vera Drake is a masterful character study that is memorable, emotionally authentic and given the current political landscape in Britain and Australia, even timely.

Imelda Staunton brilliant

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 16 August 2016]

Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is a kind helpful mother and wife to a working-class family. She invites Reg (Eddie Marsan) for dinner and sets him up with daughter Ethel (Alex Kelly). Reg served in the war as well as her husband (Phil Davis) and son (Daniel Mays). She helps the local women with abortions. Unbeknownst to her, black marketeer Lily (Ruth Sheen) charges those women. In a parallel story, Vera also cleans the house of a government minister. The shy daughter Susan (Sally Hawkins) is raped during a date. She is desperate to get rid of her pregnancy and her friend directs her to a higher cost abortion where a psychiatrist uses her aunt's suicide as grounds to terminate.

Mike Leigh delivers a movie full of humanity. Imelda Staunton is simply brilliant. I would have liked Susan's story to be more connected with Vera. Obviously, Leigh is making a point about the state of abortion for the different classes but it's not quite clear enough. Overall, Staunton overwhelms this movie with her humanity and kindness.

Unpleasant but true

[raymond-15 · 7/10 · 12 December 2005]

It's an unpleasant subject, but let's face it unwanted pregnancies are recurring problems. Mike Leigh who wrote the script and directed the action gives his usual discerning interpretation of the ordinary lives of English families. Mrs. Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) has not much to give apart from a kindly word and a busy pair of hands as she makes her daily visits to her neighbours, helping wherever possible, showing compassion for the elderly and bedridden. Honestly though if she had made another cup of tea I would have screamed. Tea it seems is a panacea for all problems in England...and there are many! Vera unfortunately goes a little too far in her offers of help to those young girls who are "in trouble" in contravention of well established English abortion laws.

It only requires infection in one patient and the truth will out and police are knocking at the door.

When a warrant for her arrest removes her from her family, we see how the family structure is shattered. This is when the film starts to get interesting. None of the family knows what Mum has been up to. After signing a written statement she faces a magistrate. His decision is swift. Vera won't be putting the kettle on for a long time.

Due credit must be given to Imelda Staunton for the excellence of her characterization, particularly for her contrasting moods before and after the exposure of her crime. She gives us a real character full of kindness and compassion and we feel for Vera despite her contempt of the law. It is hard to believe that she received no payment for her services, but not surprising to learn that others who secretly recommended her, collected a nice little fee.

The film shows very little respect for the medical profession. Cold and heartless on occasions. "How much money have you got?" asks one doctor.

This is not a film to cheer you up, but it lets you know how the other half live. Thank your lucky stars you are not a part of it.

Best film? You must be joking!

[alan-b-thomas · 3/10 · 26 January 2005]

Despite classy acting and Mike Leigh's trademark direction, this is a big disappointment.Vera Drake, the back-street abortionist with a heart of gold (24 carat) is literally 'too good to be true'.Once we know her little secret, the plot is utterly predictable and brings no surprises -'it's the rich what gets the pleasure, it's the poor what gets the blame' etc. Not exactly a novel theme. Worse still, abortion as a moral/political issue is never confronted. So this is more a critique of the British class system than an exploration of the abortion question. Even then, there is a whiff of the stereotype - the settings and costumes look to be precisely that. By setting the story in the early 1950s, Leigh weakens its critical impact further. A shame that he could not bring himself to deal with the 21st century. As it is, we are encouraged to see everything as 'historical' - but what about today's problems and concerns? Unfortunately,our belief in the character of Vera Drake is severely tested when Imelda Staunton appears in a pinny - comparison with Julie Walters depiction of Mrs Overall is irresistible! And there is only so much silent emoting, by both Vera and the upper-class girl, that the audience can take. Vera presents herself to the forces of law (where Jim Broadbent is badly mis-cast as a judge) as a passive victim who does not even have the spunk to speak out in her own defence. This invites neither sympathy nor pity so much as contempt. The general impression is that Mike Leigh has lost his way and is going round in circles.

Most-Likely Best Film of 2004

[secrets1 · 29 November 2004]

Mike Leigh has done it again. I adore "Secrets and Lies", my 2nd favorite film of all time and Leigh strikes gold again in the emotionally draining, brilliantly directed study of a 50's era abortionist in London. Imelda Staunton gives, yet another in Leigh's film, outstandingly powerful and true performance as Vera Drake. She a inner-city housewife and mother, who spends much of her free time trying to "help out" the poor ladies of 50's London who are unable to get legal abortions. Some may consider this a hot-topic issue film, but it's moreover an independent study of a woman and her life, and how her emotions play in her world. Every nuance of this film is perfectly crafted, from every performance, to the sets, and the cinematography. The emotions overflow steadily, especially after the traumatic dinner scene where the police arrive for Vera. The look of horror that Staunton displays and changes as she realizes what is happening is acting and direction at it's best. Why is it American films aren't able to capture this from it's performers? I can't praise this film enough and truly believe that this will be my favorite film of the year. It's a shame this film got only a small release and audiences seemed unmoved by it. I don't understand it. Hopefully DVD will allow those who missed it to catch up with it and relish in it's brilliance. It will be a rewarding experience for all to see. I am praying for Oscar noms all around, but especially for Staunton. It is clearly and without any doubt, the best female performance as of this date, this year.