Tockinit not horrible nor great

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

peaceweaver This movie sends the worst sort of message, that as long as the "hero" is poor and female and seemingly harmless, she can get away with anything. She stands up for what she believes in, but so what? Her beliefs cost others their lives, and that's not heroic. She benefits from the suffering of others, and rather than standin with women in unplanned, crisis pregnancies, she simply takes the life of the child rather than holding men accountable. Shameful.

kevjfarrell I am a big fan of Mike Leigh's work, he has directed some very good movies covering a wide range of subjects. Whilst the concept of this movie is very good, I have a few problems with the central character. The portrayal of Vera Drake doesn't come across as believable to me. I'm well aware that there were back-street abortionists during these times, but this woman's character as a very meek and mild home-maker who is known in her community for helping out elderly and infirm family members, doesn't come across as someone who would know how to perform this act, and also do it in a way that was as normal as preparing a meal for her family. Despite that, the film does have a lot of merit. There is the distinction of how somebody who comes from a good social background can get the abortion performed in a proper clinical way - so long as you can afford the money. Vera performs hers on people who have next to no money and during a time when there wasn't much in the way of Social Security. It portrays an era very well. She keeps her 'work' hidden from her family and when it is discovered it has a devastating effect on all of them. Despite my misgivings, this movie is definitely worth a watch. A gritty drama set in the 50's/60's.

Red_Identity I've only seen a few Mike Leigh films, and have pretty much liked all of them (his last recent four, and I've liked them more and more with each newer film). So ranking his last four, this is my least favorite of his. It's probably his bleakest in terms of pure melodrama. Like in his other films, a big reason this works is because of Imelda Staunton. She does some powerful work here, although at times she plays things a little too slight. Overall, it's a very good performance, great even, but sort of disappointing after all of the hype and acclaim. overall, this is very much recommended, even if it doesn't build itself as coherently as I would've wanted. Still worth a watch.

urkus This movie really touch my heart, like most of Mike Leigh. When I started to watch it, I though that it was based on true events that took place somewhere in England. But when the film was ended I realized that it was entirely written by LEIGH! Once again, I'm surprised by the realistic way of his cinema. And I have to say that I've watched entirely all his filmography.The performances are great; Imelda STAUNTON is really impressive, She is so charming, but in the other side you begin to fell that something in this woman is wrong, she couldn't be so nice. At the end you realize that Vera is a poor woman victim of the ignorance.The rest of the cast is simply magnificent: the faces (notice the similarity between the roles of Vera and her daughter - a great cast achievement -), the acting and the tempo are superb.What else can I say about the screenplay, which is written in a perfect way that helped by a fluid editing, gives you 2 hours of entertaining (not very common in those type of motion pictures). Art direction and make up are very good.All the characters and the universe created by LEIGH is so realistic and attractive, that brings you inside the movie and makes you forget about your life for 2 hours. He is the greatest English director of "social cinema" and one of the greatest directors of world cinema.Don't miss it!