Heartrending even by the standards of director Mike Leigh's most sentimental films, his somewhat reductive treatment of a complex subject is saved by yet another typically brilliant cast. London, 1950: Chipper Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) is a hardworking wife and mother who supplements the income her husband, Stan (Phil Davis), brings home from his brother's (Adrian Scarborough) auto-repair shop by cleaning the homes of upper-class families. When she's not polishing brass andirons in some tony drawing room, or home in her own cramped flat preparing supper for Stan and their children, socially awkward Ethel (Alex Kelly) and outgoing haberdasher Sid (Daniel Mays), Ver...
Released:
2004
Rated:
R
Length:
125 mins