Movie Review for Vera Drake

Summary: Vera Drake is a selfless woman who is completely devoted to, and loved by, her working class family. She spends her days doting on them and caring for her sick neighbor and elderly mother. However, she also secretly visits women and helps them induce miscarriages for unwanted pregnancies. While the practice itself was illegal in 1950s England, Vera sees herself as simply helping women in need, and always does so with a smile and kind words of encouragement. When she is finally found out by the authorities, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Marcy Dermansky of About.com (7/0)
            Kind and reassuring, Vera Drake must be the most grandmotherly illegal abortionist ever known to ...

By Mike DeWolfe of Apollo Guide (7/0)
            Imelda Staunton does an excellent job in the title role.

By Phil Villarreal of Arizona Daily Star (7/0)
            The film feels full and alive, and a best-actress Oscar nomination for Staunton would be a justif...

By Philip Martin of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (7/0)
            I’d rather have my heroes less than super, more engaged with the larger world.

By Lori Hoffman of Atlantic City Weekly (7/0)
            For those of us who remember when abortions were done with coat hangers and knitting needles ... ...

By Marjorie Baumgarten of Austin Chronicle (7/0)
            [Leigh's] best picture in some time.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Adrian Hennigan of BBC (7/0)
            Aside from the performances, which are uniformly excellent, the greatest strength of Mike Leigh's...

By Alan Dale of Blogcritics.org (7/0)
            [T]his can't be called naturalism ... Vera has to represent the bad medicine that fills the gap f...

By Ty Burr of Boston Globe (7/0)
            Heartbreaking.

By Michael Wilmington of Chicago Tribune (7/0)
            A prime example of how genuine drama terrifies and uplifts us. It also reveals how controversial ...

By David Sterritt of Christian Science Monitor (7/0)
            The acting is brilliant and Leigh's screenplay -- developed through his usual process of improvis...

By Stefan Ulstein of Christianity Today (7/0)
            In a hopelessly polarized debate, Leigh allows us to see real people involved in real situations....

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Jules Brenner of Cinema Signals (7/0)
            Should not be missed by anyone who stakes a claim on truthful character portrayal, fine performan...

By Karina Montgomery of Cinerina (7/0)
            You will be hearing a lot about Imelda Staunton for the next few months, hopefully right up until...

By Mark Palermo of Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) (7/0)
            Vera Drake finds an artist of Leigh’s sincerity and seriousness at the top of his game. It’s the ...

By Jeffrey M. Anderson of Combustible Celluloid (7/0)
            Mike Leigh shapes his superb film as a repressed working-class companion to All or Nothing, estab...

By Harvey S. Karten of Compuserve (7/0)
            Sometimes, performing illegal acts is a saintly activity.

By Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing (7/0)
            Hints about America's future under Bush may theoretically be unearthed in Great Britain's past, o...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Jesse Paddock of culturevulture.net (7/0)
            A piercing study...gritty, humane.

By Boo Allen of Denton Record Chronicle (TX) (7/0)
            Taking a moral approach and avoiding the political, director Leigh shows the absurd injustice of ...

By Dragan Antulov of Draxblog Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Word "great" doesn't do justice to what Imelda Staunton delivers with her performance.

By Emanuel Levy of EmanuelLevy.Com (7/0)
            Tough and grim, Vera Drake is not as brilliant as Naked but it's an emotionally harrowing tale t...

By Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly (7/0)
            You can almost smell the damp wool and feel the worn china teacups of an exhausted 1950s London i...

By Eric D. Snider of EricDSnider.com (7/0)
            Every detail of the film breathes with authenticity, fully creating the grimy, working-class worl...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Boyd van Hoeij of europeanfilms.net (7/0)
            Despite an occasionally hampering pace, Vera Drake is worth [it] because of its impeccably concei...

By Eugene Novikov of Film Blather (7/0)
            A tremendously moving portrait of a woman whose morality is so simple and pure that discovering a...

By Nathaniel Rogers of Film Experience (7/0)
            Vera Drakefeatures beautifully modest storytelling that's honest in pacing and tone and embarrass...

By Walter Chaw of Film Freak Central (7/0)
            At their best, Leigh's pictures are confrontational without being invasive.

By Lewis Beale of Film Journal International (7/0)
            It's almost as if a propaganda film made by Planned Parenthood had resurfaced after decades in st...

By Jimmy O of Film Snobs (7/0)
            Repugnant and morally despisable; and I'm pro-choice.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Phil Hall of Film Threat (7/0)
            A Mike Leigh mistake.

By Rachel Gordon of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Beautifully shot and impeccably acted...

By Rachel Gordon of filmcritic.com (7/0)
            Beautifully shot and impeccably acted, Vera Drake will keep your mind reeling well after leaving ...

By Joe Utichi of FilmFocus (7/0)
            Staunton's method serves Vera Drake so powerfully that a BAFTA must surely beckon.

By Kent Turner of Film-Forward.com (7/0)
            Any woman here who is upwardly mobile or well-to-do is performed like a second-rate Noel Coward s...

By Victoria Alexander of FilmsInReview.com (7/0)
            I can’t wait to see who is put up against Imelda Staunton for the Best Actress Academy Award.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Brett Buckalew of FilmStew.com (7/0)
            What makes Leigh’s observant, generous technique even more essential for a provocative topic like...

By Michael W. Phillips, Jr. of Goatdog's Movies (7/0)
            As in all of Mike Leigh's films, there's not a bad performance in the lot.

By Peter Canavese of Groucho Reviews (7/0)
            The austerity of the film's latter part might seem merely maudlin had Leigh not so carefully esta...

By Ray Bennett of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            It's difficult to think of another recent film so seamlessly rendered or that envelops an audienc...

By Ray Bennett of Hollywood Reporter (7/0)
            It's difficult to think of another recent film so seamlessly rendered or that envelops an audienc...

By Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews (7/0)
            Devastating wonderful.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Louis B. Hobson of Jam! Movies (7/0)
            An extraordinary film.

By Ella Taylor of L.A. Weekly (7/0)
            As a character study Vera Drake is coarsely drawn, and as pro-choice polemic, it’s both a blunt i...

By Robert Roten of Laramie Movie Scope (7/0)
            Great acting, but low on drama because of its lack of suspense and avoidance of the toughest mora...

By Matt Kelemen of Las Vegas CityLife (7/0)
            This is Staunton's moment in the sun. Her portrayal of the disintegration of Vera's spirit is wre...

By Nick Schager of Lessons of Darkness (7/0)
            Puts a tender human face on this explosive subject.

By Carina Chocano of Los Angeles Times (7/0)
            The film is more of a portrait than a story, and as such it is finely wrought and compelling, but...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Duane Dudek of Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (7/0)
            A satisfyingly performed character piece and richly evocative of its period to the degree that th...

By Gabriel Shanks of Mixed Reviews (7/0)
            Even with his film's solid foundation, Leigh seemingly cannot resist the pulpy histrionics.

By David N. Butterworth of Movie Boeuf (7/0)
            Another bleak, harrowingly realistic drama from Mike Leigh highlighted by a phenomenal star turn ...

By Marty Mapes of Movie Habit (7/0)
            A very good drama, rich cinematography, and an impeccable performance by Staunton

By Peter Rainer of New York Magazine (7/0)
            The film moves assuredly from incident to incident in a way that makes it seem old-fashioned, but...

By Andrew Sarris of New York Observer (7/0)
            Boo, hiss and all that -- but I can report that the film left me only vaguely depressed and nothi...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Nick Davis of Nick's Flick Picks (7/0)
            Vera Drake is soul-stirringly good, but it's occasionally a little overt in staging its themes an...

By Leo Goldsmith of Not Coming to a Theater Near You (7/0)
            Staunton lends the role of Vera a great emotional complexity, eschewing any facile moral response...

By Matt Bailey of Not Coming to a Theater Near You (7/0)
            There are few topics that generate more controversy than abortion, yet Mike Leigh's film seems wh...

By Frank Swietek of One Guy's Opinion (7/0)
            May not match Leigh's finest films, but it's still superior to the best most other directors have...

By Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Imelda Staunton, a noted British stage actress, gives the best performance of any actress I have ...

By Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Weekly (7/0)
            Mike Leigh demonstrates genuine fondness for his plucky lead and the ambiguities of her plight.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Jon Popick of Planet Sick-Boy (7/0)
            Staunton is magnificent, and seems destined for year-end accolades (but why is Drake being releas...

By Cynthia Fuchs of PopMatters (7/0)
            The war has disturbed all of their lives intensely, and if they don't quite have the words to exp...

By Glenn Kenny of Premiere Magazine (7/0)
            Staunton is absolutely astonishing in the title role of this quiet, sad film about the dangers an...

By Mark Pfeiffer of Reel Times: Reflections on Cinema (7/0)
            Vera Drake succeeds because Leigh is not interested in sloganeering but in looking at the human a...

By Timothy Knight of Reel.com (7/0)
            A must-see for anyone who likes challenging dramatic fare.

By Robin Clifford of Reeling Reviews (7/0)
            Imelda Staunton is the picture of the "old dearie" that you can only find, it seem, in working-cl...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Diana Saenger of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            Immersing the audience in her character's plight, Imelda Staunton is more than terrific as Vera D...

By Donald J. Levit of ReelTalk Movie Reviews (7/0)
            The title heroine's goodness may stretch credulity, but such people do in fact exist.

By James Berardinelli of ReelViews (7/0)
            For those who have the patience to become absorbed in this kind of drama, Vera Drake offers a stu...

By Peter Travers of Rolling Stone (7/0)
            Using Staunton's face as his canvas, Leigh crafts a powerfully moving film that is unmissable and...

By Charles Taylor of Salon.com (7/0)
            Susan has served the point Leigh is making about how easy it is for affluent women to get safe ab...

By Sean Means of Salt Lake Tribune (7/0)
            Leigh's gift in Vera Drake is that he doesn't help us decide what to think of Vera, but he does h...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Jean Lowerison of San Diego Metropolitan (7/0)
            Not a cheery film, but it is a fine one.

By William Arnold of Seattle Post-Intelligencer (7/0)
            There's nothing harder for an actor to play than a thoroughly good character, and Staunton does i...

By Mary Brennan of Seattle Times (7/0)
            Vera is the heart of the film, and Staunton gives an exquisite performance.

By Rich Cline of Shadows on the Wall (7/0)
            Mike Leigh is still making films that bristle with honesty and life, fearlessly tackling issues t...

By Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine (7/0)
            Like any good Leigh film, Vera Drake is about the nature of family, which is the same thing as th...

By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat of Spirituality and Practice (7/0)
            Vera Drake delivers what is rarely seen in contemporary films: a deft and sympathetic depiction o...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Ken Fox of TV Guide's Movie Guide (7/0)
            Staunton is phenomenal -- she barely speaks throughout the entire last third of the film, but the...

By Urban Cinefile Critics of Urban Cinefile (7/0)
            With its outstanding, soul-baring central performance by Imelda Stauntan, it’s a memorable film t...

By Enrique Buchichio of Uruguay Total (7/0)
            La película confirma a Mike Leigh como uno de los mejores representantes del cine británico, y a ...

By Mike Clark of USA Today (7/0)
            This is the kind of people-driven story that the movies used to give us -- before special effects...

By Brian Gibson of Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Canada) (7/0)
            Leigh takes the steady pulse of one woman’s quietly remarkable life and turns it into one of the ...

By Willie Waffle of WaffleMovies.com (7/0)
            Leigh's big mistake in the film is cutting short the most dramatic portion of the movie.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Desson Thomson of Washington Post (7/0)
            A carefully calibrated parable that quietly sneaks into your heart and prods it sharply.

By Prairie Miller of WBAI Web Radio (7/0)
            Authentic and complex grid of a system of social values and fears that has most everyone stuck in...

By John Beifuss of Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Vera seems a figure 'stamped from the dough of human suffering with a heart-shaped cookie knife,'...

By Manohla Dargis of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            ...Mr. Leigh's best work in a decade.

By Manohla Dargis of New York Times (3/5) Login Required (Login Required)
            Vera Drake, a film about a back-street abortionist in 1950 London, is the English director Mike L...

By Christopher Smith of Bangor Daily News (Maine) (6/1) No reference
            An excellent film with one of the year's best performances by Imelda Staunton.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Sheri Linden of Boxoffice Magazine (3/4) No reference
            The writer-director and his talented cast deliver a devastating social message, rooted in economi...

By Pablo Villaca of Cinema em Cena (3/4) No reference
            Moralmente complexo, está longe de representar uma experiência 'satisfatória' para o espectador, ...

By Mary F. Pols of Contra Costa Times (3/4) No reference
            As Vera, Staunton is superb.

By Jeffrey Bruner of Des Moines Register (3/4) No reference
            A gently devestating film with a heartbreaking performance by Imelda Staunton.

By Jeff Vice of Deseret News, Salt Lake City (6/1) No reference
            There's a gentleness and sweetness to Vera Drake that belies how edgy, controversial and ugly som...

By Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper (3/4) No reference
            Mike Leigh's devastatingly effective work plunges us into working class, post-war London in 1950.

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Gabe Leibowitz of eCinemaCenter.com (3/4) No reference
            I found Vera Drake most interesting in its portrayal of a woman in a crisis, and the subsequent e...

By Sean O'Connell of Eclipse Magazine (3/4) No reference
            Moves slowly but stays engaging, guided by the storyteller’s masterful touch.

By Lewis Beale of Film Journal International (3/4) No reference
            ...Vera Drake comes off as didactic and outdated. It's almost as if a propaganda film made by...

By Phil Hall of Film Threat (3/4) No reference
            ...the film's screenplay is thick with major lapses in logic, resulting in a story that ultimatel...

By Donald Munro of Fresno Bee (3/4) No reference
            A low-key yet astonishingly vibrant film that pecks at you like an intense little bird.

By Robert W. Butler of Kansas City Star (3/4) No reference
            A brilliant character study within a detailed snapshot of a moment in English history and society...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Josh Bell of Las Vegas Weekly (6/1) No reference
            A challenge more than worth meeting.

By Bob Strauss of Los Angeles Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Another one of Leigh's rare but perfectly rendered period pieces.

By Colin Covert of Minneapolis Star Tribune (3/4) No reference
            We often praise actors for putting themselves inside the skins and souls of others, but it's a ra...

By James Rocchi of Netflix (3/4) No reference
            In postwar Britain, Vera Drake helps the needy and pays for it dearly in Mike Leigh's underplayed...

By Jami Bernard of New York Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Vera Drake is perfect down to the last detail.

By Lou Lumenick of New York Post (3/4) No reference
            ...confirms Leigh's reputation as one of the world's master filmmakers...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Stephen Whitty of Newark Star-Ledger (3/4) No reference
            Despite all his care and realism, Leigh has neglected to provide a fully satisfying drama.

By John Anderson of Newsday (3/4) No reference
            Vera is given a thoroughly devastating portrayal by Imelda Staunton, in the kind of role that ele...

By Shawn Levy of Oregonian (3/4) No reference
            In absorbing drama and staggering emotions, it renders an issue too often seen as black or white ...

By Roger Moore of Orlando Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            With Vera Drake, [Leigh] has made his most controversial and accessible work

By Steve Schneider of Orlando Weekly (3/4) No reference
            The ensemble acting is without a blemish.

By Gary Thompson of Philadelphia Daily News (3/4) No reference
            Though as unassuming as its title character, Vera Drake very boldly reaches out and grabs the thi...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By Carrie Rickey of Philadelphia Inquirer (3/4) No reference
            Staunton is heartbreakingly fine.

By Jack Garner of Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (6/1) No reference
            An affecting portrait of a kindly woman with no political or religious agenda, just a desire to b...

By Joe Baltake of Sacramento Bee (6/1) No reference
            Mike Leigh, who seemingly has single-handedly revived kitchen-sink realism in modern British movi...

By David Elliott of San Diego Union-Tribune (3/4) No reference
            Nobody does seamless ensemble acting so well as the British.

By Phoebe Flowers of South Florida Sun-Sentinel (3/4) No reference
            Staunton ... is an actress of tremendous compassion and grace, an utterly irreproachable anchor t...

By Barbara Ellen of Times [UK] (3/4) No reference
            Leigh’s gift for turning the meagre into gripping drama has seldom been put to better use. The pl...

                         Reviews of Vera Drake
By David Rooney of Variety (3/4) No reference
            While the drama is emotionally harrowing it's also riveting, profoundly affecting and observed wi...

By Jeffrey Chen of Window to the Movies (3/4) No reference
            The character of Vera ... is the argument for regarding the issue [of abortion] with an indispens...

By Lawrence Toppman of Charlotte Observer (6/1) Not Reachable
            Leigh takes time to show us the daily lives of all characters, giving them more reality than a Ho...

By Connie Ogle of Miami Herald (6/1) Not Reachable
            Vera Drake makes a compelling argument for women's rights without ever succumbing to preachiness.

By Chris Hewitt (St. Paul) of St. Paul Pioneer Press (3/4) Not Reachable
            Staunton's performance as Vera is so majestic and compassionate that we feel we know everything a...

By Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone of TheMovieChicks.com (6/1) Not Reachable
            The subject matter may be controversial but there's no doubt that Vera's heart's in the right pla...

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