Hard Truths | Average Guy Movie Review

Peter Gibney is a long time agent who is known in the modelling industry for being kind, generous and supportive of the people he represents. Model Hope Harmon has been with Peter the longest of all his clients, close to 15 years. They have a very close, familial relationship and as a result, have made each other very successful. There is a major clothing client, Braden-Willoughby, that Peter has been trying to book Hope with, but the client has confided to Peter that they are not remotely interested in Hope, unless she is willing to undergo, in their words "dramatic changes".

If I had to choose a word to describe Hard Truths it might be 'reality'. That certainly seems to be what those behind the film were going for. We're dropped into the lives of the protagonists for a mere moment, and a very important moment at that, for both of them. There's no real beginning to it, no real end, and in that way it feels more like watching real life. It is but a snapshot, centring on a difficult conversation between model Hope (Paige Hoover) and her agent, Peter (Timothy J. Cox).

Of course, that high degree of realism wouldn't be possible without some good performances. Something the whole cast deliver - especially Hoover and Cox, both of whom draw on some personal experiences in order to bring their characters to life. While Cox wanted to portray an agent "that was sympathetic and kind", the very opposite of how agents are usually portrayed in movies and TV shows, Hoover brought her experiences as a model (both good and bad) to Hope. 

Amazingly, yet understandably, the conversation between Hope and Peter was shot in a single take. There's a rawness to Hoover's performance, giving you a sense of what both Hope and Paige have endured throughout their careers. It's something that bleeds into her conversation with Peter, to the point where he becomes a victim of a sort of transferred malice. It's not that Hope blames Peter, but she's angry, tired of dealing with this pressure, and unfortunately Peter is in the firing line. Making you feel sorry for both of them. In fact, it's kind of heart-warming to see Peter take it, to be what she needs him to be in that moment.

However, that search for authenticity and realism doesn't end with drawing on past experiences, because the film also serves as a kind of experiment in filmmaking. Apart from some direction prior to shooting, all of the performances are entirely improvised. Now granted, it's not something that hasn't been done before, but it's not exactly common either. Making Hard Truths a bold project for a first-time director to take on, thankfully however it's one Maya Ahmed takes in stride. 

Clearly Ahmed has allowed the actors to really use the freedom provided by the improvisational style to explore their characters. That combined with the clever way she and cinematographer Thomas Angeletti utilise camera angles and spacing to convey emotions and connections really makes you feel everything. One such scene sees Peter talking with Meg (Joy Kapp), the make-up artist on a shoot, it doesn't take long for you to get a sense of how close they are - or might have been - thanks to the very natural way they have with each other. But the close-up shot of them really emphasises their connection. Whereas, in contrast, the big conversation is captured in more of a wide shot, which gives you a real sense of this sudden distance between Hope and Peter, and the strain it is putting on their relationship.

The problem with reality is that it's ongoing. We don't really get endings in real life the way we do in movies. So while this little snapshot doesn't exactly lack resolution, it does leave you wanting. Cox said he wanted audiences to "walk away from the film thinking about the characters". Well Hard Truths certainly achieves that. In fact it's almost surprising how easy it is to become invested in this situation, considering how brief a glimpse of these peoples' lives we're given. There is hope also that the film will shine a light on issues having to do with beauty and body issues. After all, who decides what is beautiful? It's an issue that continues to plague humanity - or at least one we can't seem to let go of. So in that that way, Hard Truths is rather poetic; everything is left unfinished, much like the issue at its heart.

A fascinating commentary on our perceptions of beauty and body issues. The unique improvisational approach, married with a clever shooting style gives Hard Truths a great sense of realism and some serious emotional heft. It's about as close to reality as a film can get, making this little experiment quite the success.

8/10

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