Play for Today: Hard Labour (1973)

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Mike Leigh honed his method on the BBC's Play for Today program through the 1970s and early 80s, and Hard Labour is the first of those made-for-television films, a look at Britain's lower middle class - a frequent subject - at its most observational. Though we follow her entire family, it's really a portrait of a quiet woman who cleans other people's houses in the morning, her own the rest of the time, and her soul come Sunday down at the church. The film's précis mentions her finally "breaking her silence", but that's an exaggeration. It barely counts. Hers is a life of silent, every-day hardships, where fussing about with the wash is a reflex that covers the tedium found at the margins of anything remotely exciting (which is still better than being shouted at by an aging husband at home). She lives (and cleans). We watch (and get dirty). If you didn't recognize an actor here and there (including a young Ben Kingsley in a small role), you'd be liable to think Hard Labour is a documentary. The audience shows more interest in Liz Smith's housewife than anyone has ever taken in her in her own universe and that's unfortunately a very common tragedy. 1 year 3 months ago