Vera Drake
Starring: Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake), Richard Graham (George), Eddie Marsan (Reg), Anna Keaveney (Nellie), Alex Kelly (Ethel), Daniel Mays (Sid)
Vera helps a young girl named Pamela Barnes (Liz White) abort her pregnancy while Pam’s mother watches. When Pam gets severly sick and has to be hospitalized, the doctor gets suspicious and informs the police that an abortion procedure was performed on Pam. When the detectives question Pam’s mother, she insists that Pam just had a miscarriage, but they don’t believe her. She finally admits that a woman named Vera Drake tried to help Pam abort the pregnancy. The detectives investigate and arrest Vera, taking her in for questioning. Vera willingly admits what she’s done and breaks down crying, saying that she only wanted to “help” young girls who had no one else to turn to. Her family has no idea what she’s been doing. They ask her how much she charges and Vera says she’s always done it for free. Turns out her friend Lily (Ruth Sheen) had been charging the girls and not telling Vera about it. Vera is then charged, convicted, and sentenced to 30 months in prison. In prison, Vera meets 2 other women (second offenders) who were also in for doing illegal abortions. Closing scene ends with Vera’s family (including Rich who is engaged to Ethel) eating dinner silently without her.
Comments?
One of the finest films ever made with excellent performances by Imelda Staunton and the supporting cast. Despite the fact she performed illegal abortions, what made Vera so sympathetic was the fact that she was a kind-hearted, hardworking woman who genuinely liked to help people and couldn’t say no to anybody. She was happily married with a loving family, so one can ask what made her do what she did? One of the best scenes in the film was when the police are questioning Vera and you can slowly see her face crumbling and her eyes filled with tears. Truly fine acting by Staunton.
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