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Les Films Alain Sarde
StudioCanal
Thin Man Films
UK Film Council
Not part of a collection.
Wife. Mother. Criminal.
Abortionist Vera Drake finds her beliefs and practices clash with the mores of 1950s Britain – a conflict that leads to tragedy for her family.
CinemaSerf
Mar 28, 2023 · via TMDB
Imelda Staunton is great here as the middle-aged wife, merrily living her family life with husband "Stan" (Phil Davis) and her two grown up children and their partners. She is well respected by her peers and seems to be the epitome of the hardworking 1950s British housewife. Until, that is - a policeman arrives at her door and her world starts to cave in. Now we know from fairly early on that "Vera" likes to help girls out. To be fair - there are plenty of them who are eligible. Raising a family when rationing was still around, jobs thin on the ground and their men folks usually keen to run a mile (if they even knew/or cared) was a daunting prospect to many a young woman, bereft of familial or state support. She didn't take cash for her carbolic and syringe services, she just thinks she is doing the best for all concerned. Needless to say the morals of the time did not necessarily concur, the law certainly didn't - and so we are faced with a rather well presented and written analysis of the antiquated and illiberal situation in which many women found themselves. The film doesn't attempt to moralise - it allows each of us to observe her activities and to evaluate - almost on a case by case basis - the relative merits of her interventions and I think that is particularly effective when stimulating the debate that this film is bound to create. The supporting cast including a career defining contribution from Daniel Mays as her conflicted son "Sid", Eddie Marsan and Heather Craney allow the story to spread out covering not just the actions of "Vera" but also of the complicity - sympathetically and/or venally motivated - by those in the medical profession and those in the community who had less scruples in monetising the misfortune of others. Above all, this is thought provoking - there is no simple answer to what's going on here, and for that Staunton (and Mike Leigh) are to be commended. It's not for the fainted-hearted, but the most poignant of films never are.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Imelda Staunton
Vera Drake
Phil Davis
Stan
Sally Hawkins
Susan Wells
Daniel Mays
Sid
Eddie Marsan
Reg
Alex Kelly
Ethel
Ruth Sheen
Lily
Adrian Scarborough
Frank
Heather Craney
Joyce
Lesley Manville
Mrs. Wells
Simon Chandler
Mr. Wells
Wendy Nottingham
Ivy
Richard Graham
George
Peter Wight
Det. Inspector Webster
Martin Savage
Det. Sergeant Vickers
Helen Coker
WPC Best
Jim Broadbent
Judge
Gerard Monaco
Kenny
Leo Bill
Ronny
Lesley Sharp
Jessie Barnes
Liz White
Pamela Barnes
Sandra Voe
Vera's Mother
Chris O'Dowd
Sid's Customer
Anthony O'Donnell
Mr. Walsh
Marion Bailey
Mrs. Fowler
Sam Troughton
David
Sinéad Matthews
Very Young Woman
Tilly Vosburgh
Mother of Seven
Alan Williams
Sick Husband
Allan Corduner
Psychiatrist
Fenella Woolgar
Susan's Confidante
Elizabeth Berrington
Cynical Lady
Emma Amos
Cynical Lady
Rosie Cavaliero
Married Woman
Nicky Henson
Private Doctor
Eileen Davies
Prison Officer
Paul Jesson
Magistrate
Vincent Franklin
Mr. Lewis
Tom Ellis
Police Constable
Jake Wood
Ruffian
Vinette Robinson
Jamaican Girl
Billy Seymour
Child
Joanna Griffiths
Peggy
Robert Putt
Station Sergeant
Craig Conway
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Paul Raffield
Magistrate's Clerk
Jeffry Wickham
Prosecution Barrister
Nicholas Jones
Defence Barrister
Angela Curran
Prisoner
Jane Wood
Prisoner
James Payton
Court Reporter (uncredited)
John Warman
Policeman in Court (uncredited)
Ali James
Location Scout
Eve Stewart
Production Design
Jacqueline Durran
Costume Design
Mike Leigh
Director
Jim Clark
Editor
Nina Gold
Casting
Georgina Lowe
Co-Producer
Christine Gozlan
Executive Producer
Duncan Reid
Executive Producer
Gail Egan
Executive Producer
Alain Sarde
Producer
Simon Channing Williams
Producer
Mike Leigh
Writer
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Oct 22, 2004
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Seven Dorms of Death
2015
Preview
1982
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
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