Vera Drake (Wide Screen)

Advantages: Great film with an absorbing storyline and great acting
Disadvantages: Could be a little slow moving for some, although I loved it

TITLE: Vera Drake CERTIFICATE: 12 CAST: Imelda Staunton, Richard Graham, Eddie Marsan, Anna Keaveney, Alex Kelly, Daniel Mays, Phil Davis DIRECTOR: Mike Leigh RUNNING TIME: 125 minutes RELEASED: 7 January 2005 INTRODUCTION ******************* Vera Drake is the hardworking mother or a working class family in 1950’s London- a London still recovering from the ravages of war. Stockings and certain foodstuffs are still in short supply, many women ...
...a factory testing lightbulbs. Vera herself works as a cleaner for a wealthy family, but as well as that she finds time to be a devoted wife and mother, making sure her family is happy and well looked after. She also cares for her elderly mother, popping in to change the sheets and cook meals, and often pops in on her sick neighbors to make a comforting cup of tea. However, Vera has another job – she ‘helps out’ pregnant women and girls by helping ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent Insight into a large underground issue in 1950s Britain
Disadvantages: It feels like it comes to an end a little too abruptly, leaving the viewer wanting to know more.

The film Vera Drake is set in a post war 1950s London. The Drake family themselves are just a normal working class family, living in what amounts to a few rooms in a housing block, and indeed with very few luxuries of living a mere 50 years later. Mr Drake works with his brother in a garage, their son works in a tailors and their daughter Ethel tests light bulbs in a factory. Vera herself wears many hats - as well as being a housewife and mother, ...
...looked for help. Vera Drake was written and directed by Mike Leigh, a Mancunian. Leigh has a particular way of developing his films. The cast actors and actresses are introduced to each other gradually, just like they would have been in the lives of the characters they portray. Much of the story is developed through improvisation. To give an example of this, apart from Imelda Staunton, who was excellent and convincing as Vera Drake, no other actor ... Read review

Advantages: Powerful drama with a great performance from Imelda Staunton
Disadvantages: Quite slow and drawn-out

Vera Drake is Mike Leigh’s BAFTA award winning drama about backstreet abortions in 1950s London. Vera (played by Imelda Staunton) is a typical working class mum living in London with her husband (played by Phil “shake me up” Davis), her enthusiastic son and her daughter, who hardly speaks. Although they don’t have much money, Vera likes to invite their lonely neighbour, Reg (Eddie Marsan), around for tea. By day Vera works as a cleaner for fairly ...
...their lives crashing down. Vera Drake is an intelligent and, most importantly, fairly evenly-handled drama. It would be easy to turn Vera into a saint and portray her totally innocently and heroically, but Mike Leigh somehow manages to make her sympathetic without letting the audience forget the seriousness and danger of what she’s doing. On the one hand, she’s doing it out of kindness rather than selfishness, and only because these women need help ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent story, well written and superbly acted
Disadvantages: Lack of extra features

...amazon.co.uk for £6.99 now. Vera Drake (played magnificently by Imelda Staunton) is a cleaner in England in the 1950s. She is a devoted Mother to her now grownup children who still live with her, and offers her time selflessly to help the needy. Her husband, Stan (played by Phil Davis, who does a magnificent job) is a mechanic. Her son, Sid, (Daniel Mays) is a tailor and daughter, Ethel (Alex Kelly) works in a light bulb factory. These low paying ...
...taking care of her family, Vera also helps young women. Namely, those who have fallen pregnant unintentionally. She 'induces miscarriages' swiftly, discreetly and professionally, working efficiently and leaving the patents in as little pain as possible. She does this by injecting a syringe of a toxin into the uterus. More importantly, she refuses to accept money for this service, which she provides to unmarried women who cannot have a child for the ... Read review

Advantages: superb acting, strong subject, faithful recreation of post-war Britain
Disadvantages: none

...Imelda Staunton's impressive performance as Vera Drake that holds the film together and ultimately makes us care about what happens to her after sentencing, long after the film credits have rolled. Staunton's ability to create a character who is both a saint and a criminal (for 1950 England) and gain our sympathy in the process should have earned her a well deserved Oscar, that is without context. The subject itself- illegal abortions in post-war ...
...though the introductory scenes show Vera singing while going about her various activities (working as a cleaning lady, helping the ill, cooking or mending for her husband and children) she does so in a low singsong. There is even a scene where she is polishing the fireplace at one of her employers' and the lady of the house almost acts as if Vera was not there, almost stepping on her, as if she was invisible. Vera Drake is a quiet busy bee with a ... Read review