Nog een sterk staaltje film van Leigh (zijn typische werkmethode: de acteurs spelen écht voor de 1ste keer met elkaar => reacties = spontaan)
Schrijnend, helaas zeer realistisch...

An awesome movie mainly because of the fact that you're never really sure how to feel or react to what is happening. This movie will challenge your opinion on a very sensitive topic, be warned.

This film doesn't necessarily take a stance on the controversial topic of abortion but it rather examines how black-and-white the law can really be. It's not a message film, it's a character portrait of a kind-hearted women. The first half of the fil... (read more) This film doesn't necessarily take a stance on the controversial topic of abortion but it rather examines how black-and-white the law can really be. It's not a message film, it's a character portrait of a kind-hearted women. The first half of the film takes us through the everyday life of Vera, showing us how caring she is, attempting to brighten up various people's days, cleaning households affectionately and politely and, yes, performing abortions for young girls, which she also does in the same, maternal and caring manner. We are also exposed to Vera's family, who are all portrayed as equally rich and interesting as Vera. The film then takes a turn into an emotionally intense drama through a crushing, heart-breaking scene in which the police enter Vera's home and she admits the illegal acts she had been carrying out. She is completely shattered as a person, feeling the unjust effect of punishment for doing what she views as "helping". The reality sinks in that Vera will be imprisoned, and family and friends all have different viewpoints, highlighting their characters in heavy, powerful scenes debating narrow-mindedness vs. compassion, pride vs. obligation, etc. Every single performance is flawless, and each character is portrayed with humanity, even the police, lawyers and the judge persecuting Vera are driven realistically by their duty to the law. The result is a unique, heart-wrenching, profound drama that doesn't feed it's audience anything. It simply says that nothing can be set in stone.

A very moving film about a very controversial subject. Imelda Staunton as well as the rest of the cast do an incredible job.

This is a realistic movie that describes the struggling of women at the bottom of the society, the conflict between the law designed to protect women and a selfless heart used to help women out of troubles. The acting of the entire cast, especially I... (read more) This is a realistic movie that describes the struggling of women at the bottom of the society, the conflict between the law designed to protect women and a selfless heart used to help women out of troubles. The acting of the entire cast, especially Imelda Stunton, is just terrific. No wonder this movie wins so many awards. I was so much into the movie that I blamed Vera never defensed herself at the court. Then I realize that she is just a 50 year-old working-class woman who did not have good education in 1950. But, it is still sad to see her be fixed in the cross by those "noble" intellectuals due to her good heart.

Puts a tender human face on this explosive subject.

Leigh thinks his movie is a social commentary, but it's really an almost-brilliant character study, with an essential piece left out: the moment Vera is revealed to herself.

A film of pitch-perfect, seemingly effortless performances.

Heartbreaking.

We often praise actors for putting themselves inside the skins and souls of others, but it's a rare performer who becomes a character so uncannily and convincingly that she seems to vanish into the role.