True Things (2021) User Reviews

A Reflective Meditation

[tomcanning-01815 · 6/10 · 15 June 2022]

This film probably won't change the world. It doesn't contain life-altering wisdom or beautiful moments of insight. It is a very restrained, very subtle piece, essentially a two-handed stage play, with a pair of talented actors delivering understated performances.

This is a double-edged sword. The down-to-earth realism means that the story drifts quietly along, as do the characters, before just kind of ending. This allows for some real moments of introspection, pause, and stillness (true things, one might say), but unfortunately it does leave a slightly pedestrian and forgettable impression. But maybe that isn't a bad thing for these types of films? I'd be interested to come back in a few years and see whether the impression has changed at all.

Well cast and very real

[debonator · 7/10 · 22 July 2023]

Love anything with Ruth Wilson. Even though the story was a bit slow, the cast were able to depict the addictive nature that two emotional needy people can fall into when there is a strong attraction but too many emotional issues to make a lasting connection. Kate craves love and mistakes sex for intimacy. She supposes Blond will come around to her advances at having a real relationship where two people are honest and considerate. But he is too psychologically damaged from his childhood and has attachment issues. As soon as she gets too close he starts withdrawing but she is already hooked on him, and like a drug she needs a fix, whether it is just a text from him or another hook up. Her life is already unfulfilled when she meets him, she is bored and seeking someone to make her feel alive. Blond emotionally manipulates her into thinking they could maybe have a future but keeps letting her down. She gives in one more time to him like someone who can't resist a tempting treat and meets him in Spain for his sister's wedding, by now, after not hearing from him for weeks, she is starting to wean herself off of him. Thankfully something finally clicks that he will never be who she wants him to be, not ever, and she gives up on expecting him to treat her with dignity. The ending is perfect as she gives him his own medicine.

Well-acted and intriguing

[steveinadelaide · 7/10 · 2 September 2022]

I found the psychodrama, TRUE THINGS (2021), to be an interesting movie. It's about a young woman named Kate (Ruth Wilson) who lives on the outskirts of society. She is content with her life until she meets a man named Blonde (Tom Burke) who comes into her life and starts to change everything.

Kate is a quiet and shy person, but she is also very curious and desperate for connection. She starts to follow Blonde around and quickly becomes infatuated with him. She starts to neglect her own life in favour of spending time with him. However, she soon realizes that he is not the man she thought he was.

The movie is well-acted, and the story is intriguing. However, it is slow-paced and may not be for everyone. The characters are developed well, and the themes of isolation and obsession are explored in depth.

Overall, I thought TRUE THINGS was a good movie. It is different from most Hollywood films, and it is worth watching.

Passable British romantic drama

[ntjhforesthill · 7/10 · 11 April 2022]

Ever been in a relationship that felt more like an intoxicating addiction? That's the situation for Katie, a down on her luck benefits worker in a UK seaside town.

Ruth Wilson is fantastic as Katie. Every movement and smile conveys the desperate neediness of someone lacking self love and connection. Tom Burke is a solid love rat, and their chemistry bubbles throughout the film.

There are some nice handheld shots, but nothing too ambitious. Worth watching, nothing to write home about.

Close to the Edge

[derek-duerden · 7/10 · 27 June 2022]

Ruth Wilson gives a great and brave performance here.

Stuck in an unsatisfying job and bored much of the time, it's clear that she is often drawn to dangerous behaviour and, in Tom Burke, she meets a potentially dangerous man who seems to be able to give her the excitement she wants. Despite copious warnings from her friend and colleague (Hayley Squires on good form), bosses and parents, she allows herself to be led even further from "normal life" than usual. The film's ambiguous conclusion leaves one unsure of her eventual end, but some sort of belated self-awareness seems to be stirring?

Burke plays an "enigmatic" character not dissimilar from "The Souvenir" but to my view here he seems merely disinterested rather than actively malign and for me this is the much better film.

Worth a look.

solid six

[xenafan40 · 6/10 · 21 June 2022]

There are few films i will watch till the end, i give at least 20 minutes and if it is not absorbing me by then, off it goes and on to the next. It is not outstanding at all, it's general theme or feel is slightly disturbed, like the main character, but i was certainly intrigued to find where it would evolve to. In the end it was a little quirky, if not "deserved" ending, which did not really bring closure to the main characters "position", or State.

However, i say again i was interested enough to know what may become of the main character, played by Ruth Wilson, whom i have not seen nor heard of before, but i think she is fantastic. I was inspired to write this review because of a rather bad one i saw, due to how good i KNOW she is. There are no sparks etc coming from this rather unusual film & it does have a somewhat "Depressed" feel to it, due to the main characters overall state, so not to everyone's taste, but it is certainly no less than a 5, & i give it a solid 6 for Ruth Wilson's ability alone, which inspired concern/care for her, along with being intrigued with what would ultimately become of her, and not any actor can do that. So yes, it's a sort of downbeat study of an unhappy, unloved young woman, but certainly well acted, which puts it well above much of what appears these days masquerading as "Movies". This IS at least a well acted Movie, downbeat, yes, not to everyone's taste, but a Real movie none the less. Hope to see more of her in future, certainly she deserves such, which no doubt film MAKERS will realize after seeing her here.

Worse than bad ? I've seen a lot worse......

[jencliff · 7/10 · 9 April 2022]

I liked this film.......it has haunted me since I saw it.... Haven't we all in our time become obsessed with a totally unsuitable boy or girl ? Ruth Wilson plays the " should I text him or should I not " character really well.... Probably this film is suited for for a TV watch than a cinema outing, but held my attention none the less.

I've got to run - see you !

Banal fling.

[Victor_Fallon · 5/10 · 11 July 2022]

Ruth Wilson plays an isolated single woman with low self-esteem who hooks up with a 'bad boy' and that's the whole story. It plays out in slow, miserable, unsuprising ways. Plot development? Never heard of it. This a deeply uninteresting look at boring characters going nowhere. Think Mike Leigh, but without composition, character or compassion.

The trouble is, Ruth Wilson is a good actress and manages to make this dishwater script seem more engaging than it really is, so well done Ruth. Tom Burke is fine, but his character suffers the same problem - he's bland, badly written (if written at all) and has all the complexity of a child's stick drawing.

It's self-indulgent, patience-testing guff which leaves its actors to do all the work but, ultimately, they don't have enough work to do.

Subtle but Powerful

[wingman1111 · 7/10 · 6 July 2022]

Loved Ruth Wilson's portrayal of a volatile woman allowing herself to open up to and form a powerful connection to someone who seemingly you wouldn't normally put together.

The film cleverly highlighted how a passionate and magical encounter triggering a lonely heart to blossom and open up to another, can quickly be destroyed by a man's simple acts of thoughtlessness and disregard for the feelings of another.

And something that could have been truly amazing never comes to fruition.

I think this film is a great reminder to all, to hold onto and protect the things that really matter in life. And that includes understanding what is lost when a fragile heart is broken!

Worse than bad

[FilmFlowCritics · 4/10 · 10 October 2021]

So there are those movies, that are really bad and you instantly hate them or they even become successful and famous for how bad they are, like The Room. This movie here has good moments, but then drifts into nothingness and this will be a movie I probably wont remember at all in a few weeks.

Best consumed if you have life experience

[michael-kerrigan-526-124974 · 8/10 · 26 June 2022]

Some of the 'reviews' on here are laughable. They clearly did not understand the nuance of relationships and how romantic obsession can take over people's lives. Ruth Wilson is brilliantly vulnerable, as is Tom Burke, the object of her desire. This is British drama at its best. Don't bother watching if you're wanting a twee romance..... This is bleak viewing at times - but essential viewing all the same. Brilliant from start to finish.

... good-actors ... time-lost

[bjarias · 6/10 · 29 July 2022]

... both Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke are very attractive people, and very good actors... in True Things their onscreen chemistry together is palpable-visible

.. liking both actors... just not so much in this production... the storyline made you not like-care anything about either of their characters... there was just such a lack of purpose surrounding the entire production... they wanted you to feel better at the end... yet it was-already-too-late.

Awful

[hollymarven · 1/10 · 11 April 2022]

Absolute waste of my time and money.

No story line whatsoever, good actors and that's about it. Was just no point in the film to be honest.

The film could of been put into a 5 minute short film but was dragged out for no reason. Terrible.

Fine portrayal of a woman struggling with life

[markbushmk · 4 March 2024]

Ruth Wilson gives a superb performance as a woman in her late thirties whose life is going nowhere. Lacking a partner, or even real friends, alienating her parents, she is lonely and unfulfilled.

She has a chance encounter with a strange but charismatic man and becomes obsessed with him. He alternately spends time with her and ignores her. I won't go into detail as it will spoil the way things unfold, but her neediness and sense of isolation are cleverly portrayed.

The rapid cuts, out-of focus shots and tuneless music get a bit irritating at times - presumably they are meant to show her confused state of mind.

At the end she achieves some kind of clarity about her life, shown by the camera-work becoming steady and focussed.

Powerful and haunting - well worth watching.

Incomplete study of a complex woman

[lauralmacleod · 6/10 · 10 March 2024]

To begin, there are two very good actors as the main protagonists of this film but that does little to save it. Ruth Wilson plays a woman who obviously has come out of a relationship that meant a great deal to her and can't let go of it. Tom Burke as the job centre universal credit bad boy type does not work at all. Wrong casting. We see a woman who is not in control of herself. She makes very bad decisions that are unappealing and furthermore indicative of a personality disorder. Somehow she wrestles through her days and is not engaged with her job, friends or parents. As she embarks on a sexual relationship with this unsavoury character she looses more and more control. Everything points towards breakdown; she is not young but does act like a mixed up teenager. However, it is clear she is suffering. As we are led through several ordeals with this man somehow or other and without much depth of writing or script they are off to Spain. This is after she has lost her job. Her parents are there in the background supporting her. At this point of the film everything becomes unbelievable. The man who claims he is an abandoned orphan brought up in care has a sister about to be married in Spain. He declares to her ' let's get married and have kids'. AS IF. A party ensues and said man shows his inconsistency of character. She walks off in to the night and suddenly is a mass of smiles down in the Spanish town. Next we see her smiling like a mad woman on a bus hurtling through the Spanish countryside. End of film. Are we supposed to assume that this was a right of passage in order for her to find her true quest for freedom?? If so it has been done badly. In truth and from what everything in this film has led us to see with our own eyes; she is detached from reality and her future looks unsure. I would be worried for her.....parents would surely be rescuing her at a later date after misfortune one can predict.

False things

[jlalcaine · 1/10 · 25 June 2022]

I dont understand why this movie is untilted True Things. The image is allways with the focus only at à point, à face, an eye, all the rest is absolutely out of focus. So the best title will be False Things we does not know anything only what the D. P., or the director want us to know. We lose allways what happens around them, and the context where they are. Ruth Wilson is splendid, but sorry, i look only to 20 minutes of it. It was boring overall all other point of view.

Why did I stick with it till the end?

[acroghan67 · 4/10 · 19 February 2023]

I love Ruth Wilson and don't mind the lead guy (it's pretty much just them) but this sucked. Jude Law has a directing credit as does Wilson. They should be well embarrassed. Nothing happens and no one cares. The acting is fine not horrendous but the story is so weak and predictable that your time is best spent doing something else.

It also bizarrely looks like it was made in the 80s; the quality is poor and there are some truly awful jerky panning shots at the start.

For once the bad ratings are very justified. Don't bother. There's plenty of good films to watch in areas of this drivel. 4/10.

When you still haven't found what you're looking for...

[monicapepe · 8/10 · 9 August 2022]

...and you don't have the slightest idea what that might be...(but at least you know what it is you don't want).

This film is not about romance, nor a fling or unrequitted love. It's about.a person lost in the chaos of life, lacking direction, self-esteem and balance, and craving for a purpose to live, other than what it's apparent and has been impossed as a normal life to follow: a job, a family, kids.... I understand that people who have probably never gone through theses patches of despair and nothingness could find the film boring, slow and tedious. My reccommendation is, if you don't feel caught and curious from the very beginning, just let it go and look for another pearl...there are so many...

Drab, depressing but authentic contemporary Brit drama

[danieljfarthing · 5/10 · 7 February 2023]

Drab depressing Brit-drama "True Things" is certainly 'true', being the credible account of the understatedly downbeat life of working-class twenty/thirty-something Ruth Wilson, who struggling to get over a break-up and unispired by her blah desk job, hooks up with 'edgy' chancer Tom Burke... but is that where her happiness lies? Director / co-writer (with Molly Davies) Harry Wootcliff aims for a raw authenticity, which she achieves, but why? It's a valid character study, played out by fine actors, but without a traditional plot it's just a pretty miserable glimpse into a bleak 'true' life. Technically sound, yes, ok, but it sure ain't escapist entertainment.

Stuck in the middle with Mr Blond

[frukuk · 1/10 · 4 March 2024]

Clichéd. Clichéd. Clichéd. Why make a film like this when you haven't got a novel take on things?

Blond, played by Tom Burke, is truly horrible, but I would have been more convinced by this if he hadn't begun to shed his "charming disguise" quite so early on.

Kate, played by Ruth Wilson, is clearly rather unmoored in her seaside non-idyll. But it's not clear precisely why she seems to have no agency. Yes, the mother is overbearing and the father is a bit of a vegetable, but is that supposed to be enough to explain her inertia?

All in all, this just feels like quite a shallow exploration of Kate's listless life. Give it a miss -- in both respects.

A Great and Gritty Psychological Portrait

[Moviegoer19 · 10/10 · 25 September 2022]

I gave True Things 10 stars because of Ruth Wilson's acting and because of the excellent script. It's about a few phenomena that many women will be all too familiar with. Ruth Wilson plays Kate, a woman in her thirties who appears to suffer from not knowing what she wants out of life along with a healthy dose of depression mixed with low self-esteem and loneliness. She works as a bureaucrat behind a desk, a job gotten for her by her close holier-than-thou friend, Alison. Early in the film, a client sits down across from Kate, wanting to apply for benefits. I'm not sure that his name is ever given; he's simply referred to throughout the film as "Blond" because of his bleached hair. Blond has recently finished a jail bid and needs an income. Kate becomes infatuated with and attracted to Blond and they start having clandestine meetings for some hot sex, the kind that presumably has no strings attached.

As Kate gets more addicted to sex with Blond the rest of her life falls apart bit by bit. No, there's nothing new here, but as said above, Ruth Wilson's acting brings a freshness to a personality type with emotions that can be hard to watch. One scene stands out: she hasn't seen Blond for several days and she finally gets to confront him. He's losing patience and she's losing her mind. He asks her, "Kate, what do you want from me?" In a wee, sad voice she says, "I want to be your girlfriend." He replies, "How old are you, 12?" The truth is in that moment she actually could be 12.

As the film goes on and Kate's emotional stability goes right down the toilet along with her other drunken body fluids, it's again painful to watch. But the directing, too, is excellent and the film is organized in such a way as to enable sensitive viewers to not become too overwhelmed.

I really don't like adding spoilers but I want to mention a scene in Spain where Kate and Blond have gone to attend Blond's sister's wedding. These scenes are interesting because of Kate and Blond's relationship: though they're supposed to be a couple, they're hardly together. What's happened is that Kate has begun to lose interest in Blond. The scene where she sees him and he's wearing preppy clothes and talks about wanting to get married and have a family is the symbolic last nail in the coffin of Kate's dwindling feelings for him. Where did her bad-boy ex-con lover go? Who's this preppy nerd who's taken his place?

In the final scene Kate is in a taxi riding along a beautiful Spanish coastline with the sun shining brilliantly and the breeze blowing her hair back. With a huge smile and look on her face that says, "That's all behind me now, and I'm riding forward with Hope and Happiness, to live my future to the fullest!" We share her relief that she's been given another chance and so there's hope for us, too.

I'm entirely impressed

[YouAreGonnaMissThatPlane · 8/10 · 22 October 2022]

This movie really accomplishes a lot. On its face it's very understated - there's limited dialogue, it takes place over a short amount of time, there are very few characters, and nothing overtly life- altering happens to anyone. No big speeches, no blow-up fights, no big set pieces, no significant investments of time or money that will haunt the characters. So it's pretty impressive how many complex human experiences it touches on while you hardly even notice anything has happened. It captures why someone might stick around to see where a relationship is going, even if there are some red flags. It captures the fact that sometimes this isn't a bad thing to do. And sometimes it is. It captures how we have to extend trust to new people in our lives, and ways in which extending your trust can be sometimes rewarding and sometimes disappointing. It captures why it might seem like a near-stranger understands us better than our friends and family do. It captures the dynamic of a best friend telling us something's not good for us or not something we can handle. And the fact that sometimes the friend was wrong, but sometimes they did know what they were talking about. It grapples with extending a second chance to someone who's let you down. And it deftly shows the dance we do when a relationship starts off as sexual and then we try to see if it could be anything else.

It demonstrates a very sweet lesson: that even if a relationship doesn't work out the way you hoped it might, that doesn't make it a waste of time. Someone can disappoint you but nonetheless have a big impact on your life. As someone who's wondered if I've stayed in some relationships too long, this was a welcome reminder that just because those relationships were flawed, that doesn't make me silly for having wanted to give them a try.

From oppression to obsession to know I can see clearly

[bryanpenguin · 10/10 · 23 June 2022]

Living an oppressed life by the standards of her parents and society to the point where you really could not make your own mistakes. By making choices and exploring options and making mistakes and learning from your mistakes brings freedom of I am responsible for my life. I may not like the place where I am at but I can undo it. That is true power. True personal power.

A woman on her journey!

[bigjoshlucas · 8/10 · 12 June 2023]

I'll start with why this movie deserves to be called a film. This movie leaves you hanging with constantly wondering, questioning even, what the protagonist, a role fantastically played by Ruth Miller, is going to do next or what the cause of her suffering is, although the assumption is it's a bored and unfulfilled person just looking for some new action.

This is not the "person on a journey of self discovery" type film one would expect as it cannot be boxed in to this type of genre. This movie really gets down to a person's pain that causes a withdrawal from one's life. A withdrawal that fills a person with grief and a loathing of, and to, the self and the life being lived.

How did this whole framing of turmoil, insecurity, emotional pain, and grief actually happen on the screen?

I'll tell you how; fantastic acting, editing, and direction along with the whole group of glorious collaborators that created an enthralling piece of work. Mr. Blond remains enigmatic through the entire flick.

Excellent movie and acting

[radoskeravica · 8/10 · 27 June 2022]

Great movie that touches upon social expectations of how the life should look like and a struggle to fulfil them. I liked the scene when the main character scrolls through social media and only sees happy couples, relationship goals and crap like that and inevitable compares her life to those 'true things'. Ruth Wilson was great and you can literally feel what her character is going through. It's really difficult to understand all the negative reviews.