Review of Vera Drake (2004) by Jennifer A — 23 May 2005

This is an excellent film.

[u]Vera Drake[/u] is about a sweet little old lady in 1950's England who performs abortions at a time when it is illegal. She does it out of the goodness of her heart, helping out girls "in trouble," as she puts it, despite being exploited for it by a greedy friend. One of her girls almost dies due to complications from the procedure, which brings the authorities and medical community running. Vera Drake gets arrested, and faces jail time and the scorn of family and friends.

I'm not sure how best to explain how good this movie is, so let's start with the most obvious place: Imelda Staunton. In retrospect, I have to admit, I would have given her the Academy Award this year for best actress. There is a moment in the film, where Vera realizes what the police are after her for, when she does a facial expression that defies explanation. I haven't seen acting this good since Rod Steiger's performance in [u]The Pawnbroker[/u] (1964, Sidney Lumet). Intense doesn't even begin to capture this performance, or this film as a whole. The whole thing absolutely grips you because this world and these characters are created so well by the cast and director Mike Leigh that it's an almost unbelievable achievement in a thoroughly believable film. The color scheme, the shots, and again, the execution of all of the material are staggering. It's amazingly good.

The only way a story like this works on this level is if you identify with and feel sympathy for Vera, because what she's doing is essentially inducing a miscarriage, which I imagine is a painful way to abort a child. But Staunton's performance works both for the audience and in the context of the film, because only a truly sweet little old lady like this could give a scared girl in 1950 an abortion and have her live with it. Vera's kind demeanor makes her not only the love of everyone in her family and circle of friends, but makes her the kind of woman you'd want to give you a procedure like this. Mike Leigh creates this woman so beautifully with absolutely adorable scenes of Vera with her husband, and or the family's joy at their daughter's impending engagement. Watching it you wish we all could have marriages and families as loving as this, and although these clearly aren't wealthy people, they're happy and we feel as though Vera deserves better than this. The thing is, so does the world. This isn't a film where people preach about abortion or Vera makes sweeping speeches explaining why what she's doing isn't a crime. Nor is it a world with an evil police force that hunts and torments this poor victim while yelling and screaming at her. While there's no way I'd know for sure, I imagine it's an accurate depiction of England in that time. Vera Drake has committed a crime, but is treated as best as she could be under her circumstances. She responds as best she can. And we all love her for it.

As a result, the whole thing genuinely breaks your heart. A stunning achievement.