Marianne Jean Baptiste is Pansy, a woman you'd cross the road to avoid, one who could start a fight in an empty room. She lives with her put-upon husband, who retreats to the garden shed, and morbidly obese unemployed son, who keeps to his room and seldom speaks. We see her abusing her doctor, her dentist and two separate lots of shop assistants, not to mention other customers.Her cheerful sister Chantelle makes her visit their mother's grave on Mother's Day and come for lunch at her flat. She makes every effort to help Pansy, or at least understand her, but she will not be helped, or understood.It's a bravura performance by Jean Baptiste by Pansy's sheer awfulness makes it a hard watch, with their being seemingly no reason why she is the way she is. Some of the abuse she hurls at people is so ludicrous as to raise a smile but, all in all, I was glad Mike Leigh brought this in at 90 minutes.
Susan Kelly ● 188d