I've had this one on my to-watch shelf (yes, there's a shelf) for a while now, deliberately putting it off until I felt ready to tackle a heavy film with weighty subject matter. Despite the main abortion plot and a second half that's heavy on anguish and trial scenes (Amazon's got this straight-facedly subcategorized as a "Miscarriage of Justice" movie), it was less wrenching than I'd anticipated, though the Mike Leigh entourage's ability to create realistic, well-rounded and lovable characters without a referring script remains eerily effective. (cf. Topsy-Turvy, one of my all-time favourites.) And the acting, as always, is top-notch: The sweet subplot involving tongue-tied Ethel and the equally shy Reg was beautifully rendered in restrained physicality rather than speech, and Imelda Staunton's Oscar was merited, rather than the usual pity grant bestowed by the Academy. According to the IMDB trivia, the actors weren't made aware of Vera's abortionist moonlighting until their characters were. I wish I'd had the same level of blissful ignorance in the lead-up to watching the film - knowing the basic plot from the trailers and previews and buzz and Oscar coverage, I spent the first half of the film waiting for the other hole-soled Brogan to drop.
Buy Vera Drake on DVD
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