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Vera Drake Details

2004 Certificate 12
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 48,602 members

Mike Leigh produces another devastating masterpiece with the heartbreaking VERA DRAKE. Imelda Staunton is the title character, beloved wife of Stan (Phil Davis) and mother of Sid (Daniel Mays) and Ethel (Alex Kelly). Vera spends her days cleaning houses for money and looking in on elderly and sick neighbours out of the kindness .. Read more

Starring Imelda Staunton, Estelle Harris, Phil Davis, Jim Broadbent
Director Mike Leigh
Genres Drama

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Vera Drake

Mike Leigh produces another devastating masterpiece with the heartbreaking VERA DRAKE. Imelda Staunton is the title character, beloved wife of Stan (Phil Davis) and mother of Sid (Daniel Mays) and Ethel (Alex Kelly). Vera spends her days cleaning houses for money and looking in on elderly and sick neighbours out of the kindness of her heart. She even attempts to be a matchmaker for her daughter, inviting a lonely neighbour, Reg (Eddie Marsan), to see if he might be a perfect match for the introverted Ethel. But Vera performs another duty that her family doesn't know about, one that is deeply frowned upon by society. When tragedy befalls a young client of Vera's, the truth comes out, forcing her family to see their mother in an entirely different light. Staunton gives a towering performance and, in typical Mike Leigh fashion, the story, characters, and script were built from a gruelling and intricate improvisation process, resulting in a film that burns with heart-wrenching sincerity. Rather than take a heavy-handed approach towards his controversial subject matter, Leigh heroically remains non-judgmental, delivering an achingly humanistic drama that will linger with audiences long after they leave the theatre.

Starring Imelda Staunton, Estelle Harris, Phil Davis, Jim Broadbent
Director Mike Leigh
Studio MOMENTUM PICTURES
Run time DVD: 2 hrs
Certificate Certificate 12
Collections 100 Feisty Females
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Hearing-impaired English
Released DVD: 11 Apr 2005
Production year: 2004
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (6) of Vera Drake

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  • 4 stars out of 5

    Set in the repressed and repressive Britain of 1950, director Mike Leigh's drama hinges on a stunning lead performance from Imelda Staunton. She plays an altruistic but naive cleaning lady who secretly helps out unfortunate girls by performing backstreet abortions. But when her actions are discovered, the law — and, at first, her own family — reprimands her severely. Staunton is nothing less than superb, conveying a world of misery with the merest of looks. Equally fine are the support performances (especially Phil Davis as her husband, Stan), plus Leigh's impeccable re-creation of both place and period. If there's one small criticism to be made of the film, it's perhaps a touch too relentlessly dark and dour. Otherwise, this is as good, if as grim, as it gets.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • Mike Leighs latest film is his best since Secrets & Lies and bears some similarities to that excellent,... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of Vera Drake

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  • 131 out of 138 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star [Highly rated reviewer]

    Avoid

    Love other Mike Leigh films but this depressed the hell out of me and by the end I couldn't care less if Vera went to prison or not!!! I'm not saying it wasn't well acted but i just felt no connection with the character Vera who seemed totally disconnected from reality!!

    The dialogue for me was totally inane and i found myself laughing at probably the most inappropriate moments!!

    'Alright dear', 'cup of tea dear' and 'i'll pop the kettle on dear' are the only phrases Vera seemed to utter!! It must have been grim back in the 50's if all they did was drink tea all day and sit in stoney silence!!!

    If this film had been any more cliched the characters would have been singing 'knees up mother brown' round the old joanna, but that would have meant them having fun, which would have spoiled the depressing ambience!! I will never get those two hours of my life back now!! Avoid!!!

  • Most recent members' review of Vera Drake

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    Vera Drake Review

    Absolutely brilliant film. Best of British acting. Must watch.

      • A customer from Rochester, Kent
      • Posted 06 Jul 2005 10:53

  • News and features

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    Vera Drake

    Vera Drake picks up six awards

    • 01 Dec 2004

    The British Independent Film Awards last night paid homage to the grittier underbelly of cinema, with director Mike Leigh picking up no less than six prizes for his controversial film on abortion, Vera Drake. Leigh's uncompromising tale of abortionist Vera Drake, played by Imelda Staunton, and the debacle that becomes her life after 1950s values conflict to violent effect with her choice of profession, picked up awards for best director, best actress and best actor. Other notable winners... Read more

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Rating breakdown

48,602 Member ratings
  • 100
4,367
  • 90
4,900
  • 80
8,948
  • 70
8,557
  • 60
8,456
  • 50
5,458
  • 40
3,305
  • 30
2,286
  • 20
1,552
  • 10
773

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      • Mike Leigh produces another devastating masterpiece with the heartbreaking VERA DRAKE. Imelda Staunton is the title character, beloved wife of Stan (Phil Davis) and mother of Sid (Daniel Mays) and ...