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Vera Drake

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Vera Drake (2004)

92%
90%
84%
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92 %
Reviews Counted: 153 Fresh: 141  Rotten:12 Average Rating: 7.9/10
 
Consensus: With a piercingly powerful performance by Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake brings teeming humanity to the controversial subject of abortion.
 

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Rated: R

Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins

Theatrical Release: Oct 10, 2004 Limited

Box Office: $3,627,889

Synopsis: 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... 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 neighbors out of the kindness of her heart. She even attempts to be a matchmaker for her daughter, inviting a lonely neighbor, 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 grueling 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 theater. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Imelda Staunton, Philip Davis, Peter Wight, Eddie Marsan, Adrian Scarborough

Director: Mike Leigh
Screenwriter: Mike Leigh
Producer: Simon Williams, Alain Sarde
Composer: Andrew Dickson

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 29, 2005

[DVD Details]
  • Based on a true story, Vera Drake tells of a woman in 1950s England who is devoted to caring for her family, but secretly aids women who want to terminated unwanted pregnancies. When the authorities find her out, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel.
  • Source: Warner Home Video
  • Buy It On DVD

    Reviews

     
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    Ratings Image
    4/5

    Click to read the article

    Full Review | comment Comment
    08/07/08
    Jim Lane
    Sacramento News & Review
    Ratings Image
    3/4

    Click to read the article

    Full Review | comment Comment
    12/27/07
    Joe Lozito
    Big Picture Big Sound
    Ratings Image
    4/4

    In a hopelessly polarized debate, Leigh allows us to see real people involved in real situations. The film will keep people on either side of the abortion debates talking.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    11/10/06
    Stefan Ulstein
    Christianity Today
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Time Out
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    4/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    04/01/06
    Empire Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    4/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    Ratings Image
    8/10

    Word "great" doesn't do justice to what Imelda Staunton delivers with her performance.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    11/04/05
    Dragan Antulov
    Draxblog Movie Reviews
    Ratings Image
    N/A

    Staunton lends the role of Vera a great emotional complexity, eschewing any facile moral response to the social and sexual issues at the heart of the film.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    06/21/05
    Leo Goldsmith
    Not Coming to a Theater Near You
    Ratings Image
    B+

    Imelda Staunton delivers an indelible performance as a woman with a frighteningly simplistic idea of the world and how to live in it.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    06/20/05
    Jeffrey Overstreet
    Looking Closer
    Ratings Image
    5/5

    Moralmente complexo, está longe de representar uma experiência 'satisfatória' para o espectador, que sairá emocionalmente esgotado do cinema. Isto o engrandece ainda mais.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/13/05
    Pablo Villaca
    Cinema em Cena
    Ratings Image
    4/5

    La película confirma a Mike Leigh como uno de los mejores representantes del cine británico, y a Imelda Staunton como una de sus mejores actrices.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/07/05
    Enrique Buchichio
    Uruguay Total
    Ratings Image
    B+

    Puts a tender human face on this explosive subject.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    05/04/05
    Nick Schager
    Lessons of Darkness
    Ratings Image
    B+

    Vera Drake succeeds because Leigh is not interested in sloganeering but in looking at the human and moral cost.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    04/13/05
    Mark Pfeiffer
    Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema
    Ratings Image
    4/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    04/05/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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    N/A

    Despite an occasionally hampering pace, Vera Drake is worth [it] because of its impeccably conceived and acted characters and the moral quagmire they present us with.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    04/05/05
    Boyd van Hoeij
    european-films.net
    Ratings Image
    A

    Imelda Staunton, a noted British stage actress, gives the best performance of any actress I have seen in the last few years.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/29/05
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews
    Ratings Image
    N/A

    There are few topics that generate more controversy than abortion, yet Mike Leigh's film seems wholly uninterested in courting debate.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/27/05
    Matt Bailey
    Not Coming to a Theater Near You
    Ratings Image
    4/4

    Leigh takes time to show us the daily lives of all characters, giving them more reality than a Hollywood film would think necessary.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/11/05
    Lawrence Toppman
    Charlotte Observer
    Ratings Image
    3/4

    For those of us who remember when abortions were done with coat hangers and knitting needles ... Vera Drake recalls this era with matter-of-fact directness.

    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/10/05
    Lori Hoffman
    Atlantic City Weekly
    Ratings Image
    4/5

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    Full Review | comment Comment
    03/07/05
    Independent
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