By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.4
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Eddie Marsan | Imelda Staunton | Phil Davis | Richard Graham
Country: france, new_zealand, united_kingdom
Year: 2004
Running time: 125
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383694/combined
Bruce says: “When Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is instructed by a jail matron to take off her wedding ring, she wrinkles her face in pain and says ‘I can’t. It’s never been off in twenty seven years.’ She does manage to remove it and quickly covers her naked ring finger with her other fingers as though she were holding a sheet in front of her nude body. Such marvelous, intimate moments are the hallmark of Mike Leigh films. VERA DRAKE is a fine addition to a resume that includes SECRETS AND LIES, HIGH HOPES, LIFE IS SWEET and TOPSY-TURVY.
“It is no secret that Leigh is one of the most unconventional filmmakers in the business. Some of his film dialogue is always improvisational. There are wonderful stories of how some actors never actually meet, much less rehearse together, until a scene is being filmed. Leigh maintains that his unorthodox measures add to the authenticity of his product. I’d be hard-pressed to argue.
“Vera is a kind, loving, simple working-class woman. A cleaning lady by trade, she likes to ‘help people out.’ She visits shut-ins and her aged mother, cares for her husband and two children lovingly, acts as a matchmaker for her daughter, and induces miscarriages for young girls in trouble. When complications occur with one of her clients, the mother of the young girl reveals Vera’s identity to the authorities. Soon Vera is interrogated and carted away. Even during her interrogation Vera replies to questions with words like ‘I don’t remember, dear,’ totally in keeping with her character. Is this a hard-core criminal?
“Contrasting Vera’s clientele is Susan, the daughter of one of the fancy ladies for whom Vera cleans. This young girl is date raped by an upper class cad. No back alleys for her; she finds a psychiatrist who gives the green light for a legal abortion to be performed in a hospital, ironically the same hospital where the staff reports a failed miscarriage that leads to Vera’s apprehension.
“Set in 1951, great attention is paid to detail. The flowered wallpaper, the draperies, the horsehair sofa, and fine period costumes all add detail. The upper classes live in bright lights surrounded by bright colors. Everything about the working class environment is dark and gloomy. I felt part way through the film that the ever-present bleakness was overwhelming the story. Adding to that feeling was a subplot involving Vera’s brother-in-law and his materialistic wife.
“A role such as that of Vera is every actor’s dream. Imelda Staunton plays Vera to perfection. Hers is one of the best performances of the year. All the supporting actors are superb, adding to the grim realism of the period. Her husband George (Richard Graham) and Reg, her daughter’s gentleman caller (Eddie Marsan) both have wonderful scenes where they support Vera wholeheartedly, reminding the others of her generous heart.
“It is no secret that Leigh is one of the most unconventional filmmakers in the business. Most of his film dialogue is created through improvisation. There are wonderful stories of how some actors never know very much about the story until they rehearse together. Imelda Staunton was the only actor who initially knew Vera Drake was facilitating abortions. The others found out one month before filming began, at the rehearsal of the scene where the police come to her house. Leigh maintains that his unorthodox measures add to the authenticity of his product. I’d be hard-pressed to argue.
“Having seen DANCE WITH A STRANGER, I knew that Ruth Ellis was the last woman to get a death sentence in England. However, given the somber tone of the film and the fact that Vera’s trial predated Ruth Ellis, I expected Vera to get 20 years to life for her ‘abomination.’ While happy with the outcome, I nonetheless felt misled. 4.5 cats
Chris says: “I’m surprised Mike Leigh hasn’t made a film set in post-World War II London until now—and this is one of his best. Less dreary than ALL OR NOTHING but no less brutal, this is about a working class housewife who, in addition to taking care of her invalid mum and cleaning up after rich folk, performs the occasional abortion (or as she gingerly puts it, ‘helping a woman out’). Buoyed by a grand, heartbreaking lead performance from Imelda Staunton, this is a fair, wise, intricate and ultimately shattering story that unfolds with grace and eloquence.”
Diane says: “I went into this knowing nothing, for which I am grateful. Suddenly thought it was a remake of Chabrol’s THE STORY OF WOMEN (thanks, Michael, for telling me what film I was thinking of!). Very moving. The family’s enjoyment of their own company reminded me of my own. Noms for actress (Imelda Staunton), actor (Richard Graham), director, and cine. Those close-ups of Staunton were killer. Although the last ten minutes or so struck me as stock, I loved this movie and give it 4 cats.”
Janet says: “While most of the Mike Leigh films I’ve seen seemed a little scattered or were flawed with implausibilities (SECRETS AND LIES, for instance, or TOPSY-TURVY), this one was well nigh perfect. VERA DRAKE is the story of an almost impossibly good woman whose goodness extends to ‘helping young girls out,’ and both her saintliness and the inexorability of her punishment bring to mind Bjork’s role in DANCER IN THE DARK. Imelda Staunton’s acting is so good that I was ready to nominate her for Best Actress solely on the basis of the trailer. She smiles all through the first half of the story and cries through the second half, and her weeping and wordlessness are so eloquent that you always know just what she’s thinking.
“The other great gifts of this movie are the texture of daily life (realized in both the story and the set design), the deft scoping of social strata, and the development of minor characters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen secondary characters so generously given time, attention, and specificity by writer, director, and actors. A five-minute tearoom scene featuring new Chlotrudis fave Fenella Woolgar, for example, breathes enough subtext to be its own movie.
“As far as the film’s stance on abortion, the message is driven home by the extra seconds that the camera devotes to showing us the all-male seats of power where abortion is viewed with such high-minded repugnance. How many people are really ‘helped out’ when Vera and others make unwanted babies disappear? When Vera reports to prison and meets two other stubborn do-gooder abortionists, we realize that their illegal activities don’t disrupt the social system, they help preserve it.”
Bruce responds: “I don’t think for a second that Vera had her sights set on disrupting anything, much less the social system. Nor would she have been capable of that sort of thing. The wives and daughters of those high-minded men were getting abortions as well; those women were better positioned to foment change. This film was also about dual standards and class differences.”
Marilyn says: “I did get to see this movie….so many don’t make it here because the local indie theater thinks RAY is an independent film instead of VERA DRAKE….??!! I was very moved by this film. I did feel the main character was very pollyanna like but since i know someone quite like her, I know there are people out there so encased in a bubble of goodness with a stubborn resistance to reality, I could let go and just feel the film and its unique circumstances. Imelda Staunton is amazing at delivering this person who looks only at the good in people and brings out the best in each one. I also wondered about the conflict in her goodness never reaching the pro-life argument that she is really a killer. Do you think that was what took over in the end? And of course, the question….why did she do it? She says, I had to…..was that due to something in her past? Maybe I missed an important point that someone else could enlighten me about. I think this movie is worth seeing and Staunton’s performance worth a nomination. As usual, at least most of the time I agree with Diane only more so…5 cats”
Diane responds: “Yes, how does Leigh manage to present the issue of abortion as killing and then not really attend to it? We get the reactions of Vera’s family, but only very briefly. The film seems to show this: abortion is a necessary evil; men are more likely not to recognize that (even her wonderful husband); when abortion is illegal, money determines a woman’s health. But the question of good people doing bad things remains.
“Why did she do it? I was expecting one of these scenarios to unroll: her mother was also an abortionist; she had been raped as a young woman; her mother gave her an abortion….. But that must have been another movie. I wonder why Leigh didn’t finish out what he had set up.”
Michael responds: “Well there is the implication that something similar happened to Vera in her youth… whether it was rape, or a pregnancy that she couldn’t handle, but Leigh deftly keeps form making it an ‘excuse.’ I think she did it because, as she says several times in the film, ‘she helps people.’ Clearly many of these young women needed help of sorts, and Vera was able to tend to it. In a way, Leigh removes much of the morality from the story, until she is found out, and we are forced to see Vera through others’ eyes. During the first half of the film, which is purely from Vera’s point-of-view, the moral angle doesn’t really exist.”
Michael says: “Mike Leigh’s films aren’t known for being a laugh-riot, and VERA DRAKE is certainly no exception. In fact, by telling a tale of historical fiction, VERA DRAKE even stays away from Leigh’s usually hopefully optimistic endings where we know that life is tough, but the characters will struggle on. It’s still a marvelous bit of filmmaking, and well worth a view.
“Vera Drake is a woman who helps others. She works as a domestic in 1950’s England, but she’s also a good mother, a kindly neighbor, and dutiful daughter. She is high-spirited, generous, and caring. In her busy life, she also takes the time to help out young ladies who find themselves in the family way and cannot help themselves. Others may call her a back-alley abortionist. Leigh doesn’t make a judgment on Drake’s activities, but lets us see them through the filter of her own and her family’s eyes.
“As Vera, Imelda Staunton is remarkable. She is good-natured, and generous bordering on saintly, but she’s not a saint. She is a woman who enjoys helping others, and when forced to face the realities of what she has been doing for decades, the ramifications of her actions not only on her and her family, but on all those she aids is thrown in her face. Staunton captures both parts of Drake’s life with quite realism. Staunton is always excellent in her many supporting roles such as BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS, SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, TWELFTH NIGHT, and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY, but hasn’t really had a lead (of note) since 1991’s ANTONIA AND JANE.
“Leigh calls upon his usual stable of actors to provide the strong supporting role. I was particularly impressed by Phil Davis as Vera’s husband Stan. He is a proud, strong man, who loves his wife, the life he leads, his family and his brother. He is horrified by what his wife has been doing all these years, but he supports her as well. He is proud, but not so proud that he cannot see what is right. Daniel Mays, as Vera’s son Sid, is also terrific, especially when you compare this performance with that of Jason in Leigh’s last film, ALL OR NOTHING.
“I think what Leigh does best is create such marvelous characters, and not just the leads. Each character in VERA DRAKE is three-dimensional and given care and consideration. It truly creates a film that feels true. This film opens on Friday at the Harvard Square Theatre, and I highly recommend you try to see it. It won’t be around long. 4 cats”