Vera Drake

blueranger12 said:'that guy'

reg.

Look, everything you're saying is spot on. It’s all about the tea 🤣 Vera and tea. And New York City. Vera, tea, and New York City. Then there's the family. And Reg. Vera, tea, New York City, the family, and Reg. I really wish this movie had been made as a deep dive into New York City society, but honestly? It just feels like a single themed episode from some British TV show. I can't get behind it. It didn't move me. Not even a little bit.

blueranger12 said:Sure, everything you're saying makes perfect sense. Tea's good, too. 🤣 Vera, tea, and New York City. Add family to the mix along with Reg. Vera and Reg. I, and you've got a recipe for something interesting. Honestly, I wanted a movie that felt like a deep dive into the social fabric of New York, but this just feels like a single themed episode from some British procedural. I can't get behind it. It didn't move me at all.

Honestly, I don't even know how to measure this "hit or miss" thing anymore... if my take didn't bother you even a little bit, then nothing will.😁The "touch" should have been the film's real standout feature—even if they didn't lean into it as much as they could have. 😁 )....
...
The only thing bothering me is that the main character's motivation—this whole "pure human goodness" thing—feels totally unconvincing. That's what really loses me. 🙂 😁

Jose Miller17 said:...Look, I don't even know how to measure this "impact" thing anymore... if my whole take on the movie didn't move you at all, then fine.😁...The physical intimacy should have been the emotional core of the film (which it was, more than they let on 😁 )....
...
My only real issue is her motivation. The idea that she’s just "pure goodness" feels totally fake... that's what really gets to me 🙂 😁

Whatever, man. You aren't going to make me like the movie. I just want to know if I missed something.

Oh yeah!! "Pure goodness." Real deep stuff there. It didn't add anything to her character. She’s performing abortions at sixteen, and somehow he just makes her some saint? If they had given her some past trauma, or maybe a deep-seated resentment toward young women, or something—I don't know. This is shallow. The whole movie felt shallow to me.

blueranger12 said:Oh yeah, right. Pure human kindness. Such a deep topic, truly. Her character didn't gain any depth at all. She’s out here performing abortions at sixteen, yet he somehow makes her a saint. If they had added some past trauma or even just a grudge against young women, it might have worked. This was shallow. The whole movie felt surface-level from start to finish.

And we're back to "shallow" again...🤣.🤣...
..maybe you're just a mindless product of modern consumerism and can't recognize actual goodness? 😁😁

blueranger12 actually thinks Vera Dreck should be making sandwiches out of aborted fetuses just to serve them to everyone at home. 😁

Maybe she’s just a good person.
But I don't buy it. Honestly, maybe she's some cult member straight out of Rosemary's Baby looking for Satan's heir. But I doubt it's that extreme. 🙂 😁

It’s like Richard Hernandez13 read my mind. 😁 😁

blueranger12 said:I don't buy it. Maybe she's some cultist straight out of Rosemary's Baby looking for Satan's heir. Or maybe it's something else. 🙂 😁

If you say so... personally, I think when someone acts that perfect, it’s just plain creepy. 😁😁😁

And no, it’s not sick 😁 The woman is a total maniac. She can't tell good from evil. You ask her for an abortion, and she just does it. Whirrr, click, click, click—suddenly you're a new person!

But OH MY GOD, YOU KILLED MY BABY, I'M GOING TO HELL!!! 🙂

You aren't going to hell, darling. Nonsense. There you go! Your tea is ready. See ya! 👋

BWAAAHAAAA 🙂

Typical American 😁

blueranger12 said:It’s not even sick, 😁 it's just pure mania. She can't tell right from wrong. You ask her for an abortion, she does it. *Whirr, whirr, whirr*—and suddenly you're good as new!
But oh no, I'M GOING TO DIE, YOU KILLED MY BABY, I'M HEADING STRAIGHT TO HELL!!! 🙂
You aren't going to hell, honey, stop being ridiculous. There, there. Your tea is ready! See ya! 👋
BWAAAHAAAA 🙂
Classic American 😁

😁😁...but that's literally the whole point of the movie...they go through all these psychiatric evaluations and doctor visits and it's still the same result...except everyone is just in it for the paycheck...

Yeah, look, it’s an anti-globalization movie. It’s basically saying everything is just the same old crap, except back in the day, you had sickos who would give you a free abortion. Fine. At least the movie actually has a point. 😁

blueranger12 said:Yeah, it’s an anti-globalist movie. It basically argues everything is just the same old crap—only before, you had creeps who would perform abortions for free. Honestly, at least the movie has a point. 😁

Correction: they were creeps who thought they were doing it for nothing. 😁😁

Grejp said:Otherwise an amazing movie—Imelda me totally blew me away, especially during the second half.
Honestly, every single actor was incredible, which isn't even happening that often lately... not even in Hollywood movies.

I finally sat down and watched it too. The theater was in one of those parts of town where you get all the "indie film" crowd, so the vibe was just perfect. Even at midnight, the room was packed.
Every single actor absolutely nailed it. It’s definitely a prime example of great casting—which is something we really need more of these days...

Spoiler:

I see a lot of people struggling with that scene involving the "wealthy woman."
I actually liked her part because things aren't exactly easy for her either...
If you don't recall, that girl was raped. She captured that feeling of pure terror, guilt, shame, helplessness, and horror so well. In the end, there's just no justice for her.
The guy who did it is out walking free and nobody even thinks it would be fair to arrest him or put him on trial.
Also, those doctor and psychiatrist checkups feel a little degrading by today's standards... don't you guys think so?
That wealthy woman's scene adds so much depth to Vera's story, since she (Vera) truly helps women who desperately need her.
The ones who can afford better treatment follow in the wealthy woman's footsteps—but they aren't haunted by pain or that sense of shame and fear.
Some of the unlucky women Vera assists have been raped or exploited, while others are more promiscuous. Just a bunch of different characters, just like in real life...

It's such a sad, heavy story, so approaching this film with a "just another movie" mind frame doesn't work. (Like blueranger12 already pointed out in their posts...) 😉

There were maybe 30 of us in the theater 🙂

The film is decent
I get why the director is up for all those awards
and probably even took home a few

For me, the weakest link was the lead actress
She was great through the first half (as was everyone else)
but from that point on, she just stopped being believable
It felt overacted to me—too slow, somehow
Hard to put my finger on it; maybe the simplest way to say it is that I just couldn't connect with her
And that means her performance created a certain disconnect for me, regardless of the whole abortion subplot

Mark Hughes36 said:felt way too overacted and, honestly, just dragged on forever

Something tells me this is the first Mike Leigh flick you've actually sat through, otherwise you wouldn't be complaining about it being slow or overdone.🙂

Brenda Rodriguez17 said:Something tells me this is the first Mike Leigh movie you’ve actually sat through; otherwise, you wouldn't be complaining about the pacing or the acting being over the top.🙂

Could be true.😁
Maybe I’ve seen one before, but I don't exactly have a photographic memory (if anything, my memory is 😁 worse).
The rest of the cast wasn't dragging or overacting—it was just the lead actress in the second half. Maybe there's something to your point after all.🙂
Regardless, I'm not convinced her performance warrants an Oscar, and I won't be losing any sleep if she doesn't get one.

The movie is fine, I guess, but honestly? It’s one of those good films that I just didn't personally vibe with. I totally get that the director was aiming for this heavy, suffocating atmosphere, but man, some of those scenes just dragged on forever. The way Leigh builds the narrative is beautiful, really, but I can't help but feel like they could have said so much more without the filler.

I actually thought Imelda was great. Mark Hughes36 claims she was overacting, which... maybe? But that’s probably just the director's stylistic choice. That total paralysis she hits? It makes sense because her perfect little world just imploded out of nowhere. I mean, it’s gotta be rough when you spend your whole life thinking you're doing the right thing, only to suddenly find out you're being punished for it. Though, it is a bit weird that she seemed so blindsided—you'd think she'd realize deep down that what she was doing was actually illegal 😕

As for everyone else, they all killed it. Reg and Ethel were absolute standout performances. Honestly, they were so grotesque it was almost hard to watch, swinging right between tragic and hilarious 😛

Reggie and Ethel are definitely Oscar contenders 🙂

A total masterpiece. Absolutely brilliant.