德弗里维利

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

For many years now, English filmmaker Mike Leigh has explored the lives of the working poor with unflinching honesty and an uncanny ability to respect his characters' idiosyncrasies and the feisty ways they struggle to survive against the odds. In this incredibly moving film, he hits high stride in his career and delivers a masterwork that is all of one piece. The ensemble performances are remarkable for their realism; production design accurately conveys the dark alleys and shabby apartments of poor neighborhoods; and the string score by Andrew Dickinson is tender and evocative.

The film is set in London in the early 1950s. Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) lives with Stan (Phil Davis), her husband of 27 years. She is a domestic who cleans the houses of well-to-do ladies; he works as a mechanic in a shop run by his brother Frank (Adrian Scarborough). They have two grown children, both still living with them in their small tenement flat: Sid (Daniel Mays), a gregarious apprentice tailor, and Ethel (Alex Kelly), a shy factory worker.

Vera, as her husband puts it, has a heart of gold. Although she has plenty of household chores on top of her job, she finds time to regularly visit two shut-ins, one of whom is her cranky mother. Vera, who hums methodically, is a cheerful person who believes that a special grace in life is to savor a good cup of tea, no matter what the occasion. Noticing that Reg (Eddie Marsan), is a lonely fellow, she invites him over for dinner. Everyone in the family is pleased when he takes an interest in Ethel.

Another aspect of her care and compassion for others is her secret mission to help poor pregnant women who are not willing or able to give birth to a child. She works closely with Lily (Ruth Sheen), a friend since childhood, who sells household goods on the black market and finds women seeking abortions. These poor girls, married women with too many children and wives who have gotten in trouble, have no choices other than to throw themselves on the mercy of Vera, who does not charge them anything for her loving ministrations. Their lack of options is contrasted with the situation of Susan (Sally Hawkins), the daughter of one of the rich women Vera works for. After she is raped on a date and becomes pregnant, she sees a private doctor and a psychiatrist who arrange for a calm and safe abortion at a discreet clinic for a substantial fee.

Vera's secret missions of mercy come to an end when a young woman she treated develops life-threatening complications. The police find out about Vera and Lily and are swift to apprehend them (abortion wasn't legalized in England until 1967). Much to Vera's dismay, this all takes place on the same day that they are celebrating the announced wedding of Reg and Ethel. Frank and his materialistic wife Joyce (Heather Craney) are at the party with them. Their good news that Joyce is pregnant gets lost in the confusion when the police arrive and question Vera. Anger and shock are two of the emotions experienced by Stan, Sid, and Ethel when they learn the secret Vera has kept from them for nearly 20 years.

When was the last time you saw a movie that focused on the compassion and genuine goodness of a person who doesn't live for herself but always puts others first? Look no further. Mike Leigh has created an emotionally resonant drama around the little acts of kindness that all the world's religions agree is at the center of what it means to be a fully developed human being. Vera accepts the punishment that is meted out to her, but then many good and self-sacrificing individuals have suffered for what they believe in without complaint. Vera Drake is one of the best films of 2004, and Mike Leigh is to be commended for making a hero out of a kindly woman who does her best to help the less fortunate around her.

【题外话】 有的人资质本不差，受过不错的教育，有明辨是非的能力，志向远大，鉴赏力优于常人，经常思考人生，但是总把生活过得一团糟，当他们到了可以回忆人生的时候，往往感叹“我怎么就把生活过成了这个样子呢？我明明可以过不一样的人生，或许是我运气不好，或许是我生错了年代。” 维拉身处的时代很糟糕，经济萧条，物资匮乏，就连天气都经常很阴沉。她是社会底层的一个平凡的老太婆，估计也没受过啥教育，工作就是给人打扫清洁卫生。她特别勤快，身材矮小矫健，一天到晚忙忙碌碌，除了工作外就是缝缝补补，影片的前半段，她就是在不停的忙活这个忙活那个。这到也没什么，这种勤劳的妇女，我们随处可见，我们的姥姥、老妈、隔壁的阿姨，都是这种典型。维拉不仅勤劳，心肠也是极好的，周围的人由于各种原因，过得都很艰辛，她习惯性的照顾着他们，像个火把似的走到哪里照亮哪里。这个也没什么，这种善良，我们见得也不少。 维拉最让人喜欢的是勤劳善良之上的生活态度。 她那个矮小的身体里仿佛有无穷的力量，干活干得又快又好，从来不抱怨，总是生机勃勃，小眼睛里总是闪耀着光芒，在那种世道，都能把家庭经营得温馨美好。我见过很多中年妇人，边忙碌边抱怨，明明是勤劳善良的人，但总是一副苦大仇深的样子，或许叫人敬佩，但不愿亲近。她们像老黄牛一样，压抑又悲情，别说我们的中小学课本里经常出现劳苦式受难式的母亲形象，那个在生活中太常见了，而我们的文化往往倾向于欢迎歌颂拔高这种将苦难当崇高的悲壮形象，仿佛不如此，便不能显现母性的伟大。其实谁都知道，我们需要的不是苦难，而是苦难之中积极向上的健康力量。身在泥淖当中却能开出花，散发香气，触及旁人，这才是精神力量的伟大之处。 当一个人身处底层，每天湮没在无穷无尽的繁琐之事当中，还能尽力去帮助别人的时候，这人是完全配得上伟大二字的。 看过好多伊梅尔达斯汤顿的片子，她最擅长出演那种穷乡僻壤没见过世面又特别八卦的小老太太了。

正在看三联新刊《我们与历史的距离》，里面讲到大历史、小历史叙事。

此片后半段，警察在法庭事无巨细描述维拉的堕胎工具，影片结束字幕出现“警局顾问、二战顾问、医疗顾问“，我就知道，这是一个无一字无出处的“历史小叙事”。再回味所有场景美工，人物设置，对话，无不异常严谨具有历史代表性。此处下的硬功夫，堪称一篇高水准历史学术研究。在此基础上如何表现历史及人物的“真实生动光晕”，以及创作者的当下价值观，就看TA如何“带着镣铐跳舞”了。

这是一个西方语境里异常复杂的议题。尤记得第一次亲身经历这一冲突，是在2012年美国俄亥俄州奥巴马竞选现场。血淋淋的堕胎图片被疯狂的反对者呐喊着举着堵在会场入口，让来自“计划生育”习以为常国度的我，瞠目结舌，赶忙补课。

导演将这一难题转换为“帮助女孩儿们”。一个不知道父亲为何人苦出身朴实善良苦已有些神性的女主，加上她的典型的英国底层渐渐走出二战阴影有信仰价值观清晰的幸福家庭，凸显了她的行为面对不同阶层、不同状态女性共同困境时的正当性。要知道，同时期（1950年代）的巴黎，丈夫再施虐，妻子也无法独自获得离婚，只能采取极端手段但结果却是入狱（见本次电影节《曼妙旅程》的描述）

整体表演非常NTLIVE，英国戏剧表演范儿。历史背景下不同阶层的身体、口头语言，即是他们源远流长的生活传统，也是他们源远流长的表演传统（嗯，我们这里这一传统一再打破），个个都是一流表演，导演也是在各个细节，于无声处表达了清晰的态度。