Set in the 1950's fallowing world war II, Vera Drake, a domestic house maid spends her days caring for the wealthy, the unhealthy and the needs of her family. Secretly on the side she aids young women in aborting their unborn. This is the basic synopsis of Mike Leigh's newest film, Vera Drake. In typical Mike Leigh fashion the story is strongly enhanced with the character development of his actors, and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) is no exception. Her soothing and modest performance in the first half of the film immediately takes a transformation to an emotional downward spiral that bleeds off the screen.
Supporting Staunton is Vera's husband Richard Graham, who plays George Drake, a car mechanic and veteran of world war II. The relationship of the two is simple, mundane and perfect. Their two grown children, Sid (Daniel Mays) and Ethel (Alex Kelly) still live at home in their tiny London apartment. The family dynamic is shown throughout the film with their nightly dinners and fireside conversations. Leigh's characters all seem to have that blue collar London twang that fires off the conversation from one thing to the next without taking a breath. The dialogue is one of this movies many strong points, it rolls right off on the tongue and plays perfectly on screen from character to character. This is due in part by Leigh's form of directing, he gives his actors the freedom to go off and develop their own characters and dive deeper and deeper into their every nuance.
The films start sets up a normal, caring woman with every ounce her energy devoted to others. This however is the set up to the main focus which is giving at-home abortions to women who feel that they that they cannot, or do not, want to carry their child to term. Once the focus does switch it is never left behind from that point on. After many years of providing this service without complications, Vera finds herself in trouble with the law after a client nearly dies. The reality of what she has been doing is thrust into the spotlight and the moral issues of what is right and what is wrong is brought up. This is what it seems Leigh was trying to say without explaining how he felt about it completely. In fact, it is never really clear in the film what Leigh is trying to say about the issue of abortion, only that it is illegal to preform it at home, with a syringe and soap water.
The art direction for the film is spot on, as you never once forget that you are in 1950's London spending time with the middle class. The pacing for the film is slow and deliberate, giving the characters the ability to develop themselves and the story on their own, without camera tricks or heavy exposition. Therein lies the subtle beauty of the film, the long cuts and heavy dialogue are not a distraction, but rather a warm invitation into the lives of ordinary people who get thrust into a foreign and unpleasant situation because of one woman who cares so much, that she believes what she is doing is right. Even though she knows it to be a crime, Vera sees herself as helping these women, which is in fact exactly what she calls it.
Leigh's attention to detail in the development of the scene as a whole is brilliant and prominent throughout the movie. The only time he gets a little trigger happy is when Vera is questioned at her home by the police for her wrong doings then taken to the station where almost the same scene is repeated to a tee. This was a pivotal point in the film which was wasted on information previously digested five minutes earlier. The film is humble, the characters are warm and welcoming and the direction is impeccable, all Leigh needs to do is flip flop the last two shots of the film and I would gladly watch it again.
Written by Jameson Posey and Dustin Stratton
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