Vera Drake (2004)
Genre: Drama
Duration: 125 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / France
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Stars: Imelda Staunton, Phil Davis and Peter Wight
IMDb score:
7,6 (28.550)
Releasedate: 22 October 2004
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Vera Drake plot
"Wife. Mother. Criminal."
Vera Drake lives with her husband Stan and their adult children Sid and Ethel in 1950s London. They are not rich, but they are happy and a close-knit family. Vera is a maid in several houses, Stan is a mechanic in his brother's garage. Sid works as a tailor and Ethel works in a light bulb factory. But the good Vera has a secret that she doesn't share with anyone close to her. She helps young women terminate pregnancies without receiving payment. When one of those girls becomes ill after an abortion and ends up in hospital, the police open an investigation. The investigation brings them to Vera.
Actors and actresses
Vera Drake
Stan
Susan Wells
Sid
Reg
Ethel
Lily
Frank
Joyce
Mrs. Wells
Reviews & comments
Vinokourov
-
- 3143 messages
- 2909 votes
Very typical British film, which is good and impressive. Vera Drake is an older woman with a very helpful nature. She helps girls by performing abortions, but at some point things go wrong. From then on, the film really gets good (before that it was all fairly flat) with strong and realistic acting by Imelda Staunton. The 1950s, in which the film is set, are attractively filmed.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Dievegge
-
- 3180 messages
- 8228 votes
It's already audacious to tackle such a subject and Mike Leigh does a very good job of it. It is set in the 1950s in London. Vera Drake performs illegal abortions in the working class, with all the legal and medical risks that entails. In a side storyline we see how someone from a higher class (Sally Hawkins) is better helped.
Imelda Staunton plays a heartbreaking role. The secondary characters are also well developed, with Timothy Spall as the husband, among others. You get the feeling that it's about real people who also have a life outside of what we get to see. For a comic-romantic note the engagement of the daughter (Alex Kelly).
It can lead to a debate about who is right and who is not. Police and justice simply enforce the law; so you can hardly blame them. A prison sentence is a very severe punishment for someone who wanted to help people. If abortion is legalized, it can be done under medically justified circumstances.
Translated from Dutch · View original
mister blonde
-
- 12709 messages
- 5847 votes
Awesome movie. It should be noted that I find it remarkable that most people think that Vera does not (really) commit a crime. Of course it is. The primitive way in which she 'treats' the women, with all the associated risks, make it clear why someone without a medical background can't just go and do it on their own. Despite good intentions, she should have known better. Great acting by Staunton, of course, especially after the arrest. Outrageous that Hilary Swank won the Oscar for that crybaby…
Translated from Dutch · View original
Corporate & Media
Realtimes Network
Innovatieweg 20C
7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31(315)-764002
