Director Mike Leigh vividly remembers the 1997 Academy Awards, where Marianne Jean-Baptiste was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in his best picture nominee “Secrets & Lies.”
“She should have won,” Leigh said during an interview at the Variety Studio, sponsored by J Crew and SharkNinja, during the Toronto International Film Festival.
Jean-Baptiste lost the award to Juliette Binoche, who shockingly won for her performance in “The English Patient,” which also took home the best picture Oscar. However, neither Binoche nor Jean-Baptiste were favored to win. Instead, Lauren Bacall in “The Mirror Has Two Faces” won Golden Globe and SAG prizes for her work.
“The person who won that year walked backstage after the interviews, came straight over to Marianne and said, ‘You should have won this,’” Leigh recalled. “That has to be for the record.”
Nearly three decades later, Leigh and Jean-Baptiste are teaming up again for Leigh’s 15th feature film, “Hard Truths,” having its world premiere at TIFF. A stark contrast to Leigh’s 2008 comedy “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “Hard Truths” tells the story of Pansey, a hypersensitive woman who erupts at the smallest provocations. She lives with her husband, Curtley (David Webber), and adult son, Moses (Tuwaine Barrett), who have grown numb to her outbursts. Her sister, Chantal (Michele Austin), is her emotional opposite — cheerful and content with her two daughters, yet able to understand Pansey’s pain.
Jean-Baptiste delivers a powerhouse performance that could place her in the running for best actress at this year’s Academy Awards. If nominated, she would become only the fourth Black woman to receive multiple Oscar nominations, joining Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Angela Bassett.
“Damn!” Jean-Baptiste said when informed of the statistic. Still, she remains unfocused on awards buzz. “What’s beautiful about working this way is that it’s not results-based; it’s about the process. So I find it difficult to think about that because I’ve already won. And having the courage to hand it over to somebody, [that] you know, will look after you.”
Leigh dismissed any notions of retirement despite acknowledging his physical challenges. “Raising money is very difficult when you have no script, won’t discuss casting, and just say, ‘Give us the money and don’t interfere,’” he said. “My problem is physical. I’m a bit of a cripple these days, but I hope to overcome that. I’m not retiring yet.”
He already has an idea in the hopper but refuses to talk about it.
“Hard Truths” premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6 and will be released in the U.S. by Bleecker Street on Dec. 6.