Vera Drake DVD > Reviews > Wife. Mother. Criminal.

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Story	Outstanding
Characters / Performances	Outstanding
Special Effects	Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?	Good

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 .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

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, she also works as a cleaner for wealthier households, while at the same time taking care of neighbours in the block who are either housebound or bed-bound, as well as indeed her own mother.

And she fulfils another important role in the community.

Abortion WAS available to affluent women in 1950, providing that a doctor cited the mental health of the mother was at risk. However the finances were beyond the reach of most women, in an era when having children out of wedlock was strictly taboo. It wasn't just young unmarried women who sought the help of a backstreet abortionist though; many older, married women who simply could not cope with any more kids often 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 in the film had any idea the film was about abortion until fairly late on. This is clever directing, as the element of surprise and shock is caught on the individual actors and actresses faces.

I enjoy British made films with their stories set in the UK primarily because it is easier to get absorbed in the location, and this film was no exception. Most of the filming takes place either in the block of flats where the Drakes lived or indeed in the cramped living quarters of the people in Vera's life - both family and the people she cares for, and the girls she "helps".

Life in a 1950s Britain was simply depicted as being much more straightforward and perhaps family oriented, and the differences between the sexes more apparent, given that while both adult children worked, it was the girl, Ethel, who helped her mother around the house after the evening meal. While the son, Sid, played by Daniel Mays was outgoing and gregarious, Ethel, played by Alex Kelly, was at times unbelievably subservient. They were certainly a close family though, although none of them were aware of the secret life of their Mother until one girl who was "helped" by Vera was rushed to hospital after being taken seriously ill and admitted to the abortion.

The moral issue over whether Abortion is right or wrong was probably debated as much back in 1950 as it is today, perhaps more so then, as most people accept the right of a woman to choose today. Staunton's portrayal of Vera Drake was of a simple woman, a woman who helped girls out by reintroducing their bleeds, convinced she was doing nothing wrong but merely helping them, the way she would help an elderly neighbour with their care needs.

While the subject of the film is obvious, and the law is very clear as to the rights and wrongs of what Vera did, the director allows the story to unfold in a simple way, and the viewer can decide whether she was doing good or evil. Leigh himself describes it as political in that it deals with the way people live their lives but the complexities of the situation unravel themselves gradually and Leigh definitely does not force one view or the other at the viewer. What he has done is give those interested a much greater insight into just how backstreet abortion was a large yet covert reality. Generally speaking the film is easy to watch, with one or two scenes that made me feel slightly uncomfortable, however the film is rated as a 12

I have watched the film twice, when it was first released on DVD a year or two ago, and more recently. I actually appreciated it more the second time - if there were one criticism of the film (apart from the endless times Vera put the kettle on!) it is that it seems to end quite sharply, and I found myself wanting more from it the first time I watched it.

The film was nominated for three Oscars, and has won a stack of other film awards, including best costume design. I have to say the latter is no surprise and indeed the transformation of Staunton into Vera Drake is excellent.

The DVD is available from £6.97 via Amazon or from £1 on Ebay, used, making it possible to buy this DVD for less than the cost of renting it. There are however, very few extras, on the DVD - only one short feature discussing the making of the film with the Cast and Crew, which was nevertheless very interesting, particularly for the improvisation techniques that were deployed.

125 minutes

 

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