review for Hard Labour on AllMovie  Hard Labour (1973) by Josh
Ralske review  Mike Leigh's Hard Labour is a glum look at lower-
class British life in 1973. Leigh pulls no punches as it
realistically explores the sexism and classism of the time and
place, but, as usual, the filmmaker is more concerned with
complex human drama than with any sort of didacticism. While
Mrs. Thornley (Liz Smith), the lead character, is a sympathetic
figure, her tormentors are also shown to be fully human with
disappointments and troubles of their own. There is, for the
most part, no black and white in Leigh's films -- just flawed
individuals trying to navigate the social and economic land
mines of their downtrodden existence. They often unwittingly add
to their own misery, as when Mrs. Thornley chooses to blame her
overwhelming domestic problems on herself, begging a priest to
help her find forgiveness. The reaction of this relatively minor
character to Mrs. Thornley's plight is indicative of Leigh's
bracingly intricate approach to