德弗里维利

Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

For many years now, English filmmaker Mike Leigh has explored the lives of the working poor with unflinching honesty and an uncanny ability to respect his characters' idiosyncrasies and the feisty ways they struggle to survive against the odds. In this incredibly moving film, he hits high stride in his career and delivers a masterwork that is all of one piece. The ensemble performances are remarkable for their realism; production design accurately conveys the dark alleys and shabby apartments of poor neighborhoods; and the string score by Andrew Dickinson is tender and evocative.

The film is set in London in the early 1950s. Vera Drake (Imelda Staunton) lives with Stan (Phil Davis), her husband of 27 years. She is a domestic who cleans the houses of well-to-do ladies; he works as a mechanic in a shop run by his brother Frank (Adrian Scarborough). They have two grown children, both still living with them in their small tenement flat: Sid (Daniel Mays), a gregarious apprentice tailor, and Ethel (Alex Kelly), a shy factory worker.

Vera, as her husband puts it, has a heart of gold. Although she has plenty of household chores on top of her job, she finds time to regularly visit two shut-ins, one of whom is her cranky mother. Vera, who hums methodically, is a cheerful person who believes that a special grace in life is to savor a good cup of tea, no matter what the occasion. Noticing that Reg (Eddie Marsan), is a lonely fellow, she invites him over for dinner. Everyone in the family is pleased when he takes an interest in Ethel.

Another aspect of her care and compassion for others is her secret mission to help poor pregnant women who are not willing or able to give birth to a child. She works closely with Lily (Ruth Sheen), a friend since childhood, who sells household goods on the black market and finds women seeking abortions. These poor girls, married women with too many children and wives who have gotten in trouble, have no choices other than to throw themselves on the mercy of Vera, who does not charge them anything for her loving ministrations. Their lack of options is contrasted with the situation of Susan (Sally Hawkins), the daughter of one of the rich women Vera works for. After she is raped on a date and becomes pregnant, she sees a private doctor and a psychiatrist who arrange for a calm and safe abortion at a discreet clinic for a substantial fee.

Vera's secret missions of mercy come to an end when a young woman she treated develops life-threatening complications. The police find out about Vera and Lily and are swift to apprehend them (abortion wasn't legalized in England until 1967). Much to Vera's dismay, this all takes place on the same day that they are celebrating the announced wedding of Reg and Ethel. Frank and his materialistic wife Joyce (Heather Craney) are at the party with them. Their good news that Joyce is pregnant gets lost in the confusion when the police arrive and question Vera. Anger and shock are two of the emotions experienced by Stan, Sid, and Ethel when they learn the secret Vera has kept from them for nearly 20 years.

When was the last time you saw a movie that focused on the compassion and genuine goodness of a person who doesn't live for herself but always puts others first? Look no further. Mike Leigh has created an emotionally resonant drama around the little acts of kindness that all the world's religions agree is at the center of what it means to be a fully developed human being. Vera accepts the punishment that is meted out to her, but then many good and self-sacrificing individuals have suffered for what they believe in without complaint. Vera Drake is one of the best films of 2004, and Mike Leigh is to be commended for making a hero out of a kindly woman who does her best to help the less fortunate around her.

迈克.李难得的塑造了一个和睦，温馨的家庭，没有其他作品中令人坐立不安的家庭争吵，没有充满隔阂与怨恨的家庭关系。维拉，这么一个善良，勤劳，温和的老太太如同天使一般照顾着四口之家，帮助着需要帮助的年轻女孩。不变的是迈克.李依旧将镜头对准了社会底层家庭，一个和睦的底层家庭。维拉的故事很容易让人想到同样讲述堕胎问题的夏布罗尔名作《女人韵事》。而不同的是《女人韵事》中的女主帮人堕胎是要收费的，而且她还容纳妓女在自己家卖淫以获取租金，这与本片中的维拉完全免费，完全出于善意，只是想帮助有困难的女孩的单纯出发点截然不同。因此维拉这个角色更加理想化，更加让人动容，但也缺少了更多的延伸性和解读性。而两部影片中都有一个女人表达了自己对于频繁生孩子的厌恶。

影片前半部分相当温馨，一家四口关系非常和睦，维拉在私下给女孩们堕胎时慈母般的脸庞给人一种极大的安全感。但她反复使用的堕胎工具最终也让她付出了代价。接受她堕胎服务的女孩全都来自社会底层，因为收费低（费用是她朋友背着她收的）。而维拉在一个上流家庭里当清洁女佣时，上流家庭里的年轻女儿因为被强奸而怀孕，但她却花了大价钱找到了医疗设施完善且干净卫生的医生进行了堕胎。这样的对比也无情的揭示出了阶级的差异和生存环境的差别。维拉是善良的，但她无法获得更专业卫生的设备，她在帮助别人的同时也在散播风险，最终也因为一个堕胎女孩的感染而被人发现。影片中最温馨的段落便是维拉女儿与男友订婚的时刻，一家四口加上丈夫的弟弟与弟媳以及女婿，一共七人围坐在餐桌上其乐融融，而至暗时刻也一同到来。维拉在团聚之时被警察带走，一直被蒙在鼓里的家人得知维拉的事情后，儿子非常气愤，他认为母亲是不道德的，但父亲却理解母亲的善。这也是影片呈现出来的道德困境。法律禁止堕胎，怀孕的女孩渴望堕胎，维拉无偿帮助遭遇困难的女孩，这三股力量被绑在一起，很难单独定义。维拉面对警察不知所措，只是不断强调那些女孩需要帮助，仅此而已。最终她被判入狱，成为了罪人，成为了丧失道德的人，可她明明那么善良，那么乐于助人。维拉是那个时代的牺牲品，法律在不断改进，现在与过去不同，结局也会不同。但每个时代又有专属于这个时代的问题，比如某国关于扶不扶的道德困境........

被强迫侵犯的女孩，情侣关系中意外怀孕的女孩，处于社会边缘地位而无法得到援助的有色人种女孩，因丈夫离家而自己耐不住寂寞去偷情的女人，已经生养六个子女所以再也负担不起的母亲——在所有这些意外怀孕但不能生养下来的女性中，她们之中没有任何一个人是有错的、有罪的、不好的，顶多只能说其中个别人没有那么好。但是她们都承受了自己本来不应该遭遇的不幸和伤害。生育是男人、社会、文化传统和政策法规，共同对女人进行的一场贯穿生活方方面面的合力围剿——这是迄今为止不论哪个时代和社会中的亘古不变的事实！

因此，哪怕法理和违法事实如此，但维拉的善良和同情、助人、无私绝对是好的、对的，而非罪恶的。

但警长就有错了吗？并不是。首先，他的行为和选择是他的职责义务所在，是对程序正义和法治精神的坚守——程序正义就意味着即使不该或者没必要如此，但也必须遵守；其次，从结果正义来讲，不论原因、具体情况和初衷是什么样的，在结果正义上，我们确实必须禁止使用不安全、不符合医学要求的手段的手术。更重要的是，警长是同情、共情、想要帮助维拉·德雷克的——这一点从他不反对保释，屡次在法庭上强调维拉的认罪态度良好和协助配合调查，以及她本身是想要帮助女孩们的这一初衷就可以看出。这就证明了法理并不是绝对冷血无情、不可变通的，检察官和陪审团也是这样（我很好奇为什么不多加两部分戏，一部分是邻居众人对维拉一家人的另眼相待和讨嫌，另一部分是在法庭上陪审团与维拉、无数个不得不堕胎的女孩们达成共情，想要帮助维拉把罪罚减到最低。然后二者形成鲜明对比）。

不理解维拉的儿子和人们有错吗？也没有。他们的生育观念是来自于传统习俗和宗教的，是来自于对法律的畏惧的，是来自于他们自己并没有真正身处于“被强迫”或者“养不起”或者“不被待见”这类处境中的——尤其是儿子，维拉夫妇感情好；他们的节育观念和做法得当；一家人勤劳，也没有生存经济压力，因此，他们家不存在“生多了所以再也生养不起”或者意外怀孕的情况。由于自己没有经历过，没有身处其中感受，所以儿子无法理解她们想要做手术的不得已，以及母亲自愿想要帮助她们的不得已。因为没有“身受”所以不能“感同”，所以才会讨嫌这件事。再加上传统观念，他们的不理解和讨嫌就不是他们的错了。

我们可以发现，在这场社会悲剧中，没有任何人是有错有罪的、理所应当遭受这些的，大家都是无辜的。因此，这正是时代和社会的悲剧，宏观的巨浪卷起一个个无力无助的个体，女人们都像被警长从其乐融融的家庭聚会中无情带走盘问的维拉·德雷克一样惊惶、恐惧、无奈。这是令人窒息的无法逃离的悲剧。

对于这样一个故事，导演选择了最朴实、最冷静、最直接、最真实的平铺直叙一样的铺陈式叙事，犹如外科手术一般精准、直接、有力，犹如显微镜一般细致、清晰。导演没有选择花哨的叙事结构和镜头语言。虽然将诸多事件分别呈现，但并不是多线叙事也不是插叙。这事实上是如《清明上河图》一般地，将不同角度和方面的面貌同时呈现。影片中最突出的片段一定是欢乐中紧接着的冷峻的审问，没有任何配乐，没有复杂的运镜，纯粹是最简单的对着说话者的正反打，最简单的镜头语言反而是最令人窒息、最动人的呈现。