for what could happen to her in prison, before finally telling Vera that he loves her. Vera is bailed to appear at the Old Bailey. None of Vera's employers will give her a character reference. Her solicitor thinks she will receive the minimum sentence of 18 months in jail; the judge sentences her to two and a half years imprisonment "as a deterrent to others." This affects all the people who previously depended on Vera's kindness. While in prison, Vera meets others who have been convicted of performing illegal abortions. They discuss their sentences, explaining that it's not their first time in prison for performing illegal abortions, and that she'll probably only serve half her sentence. Vera tearfully leaves to go to her cell. Main cast Imelda Staunton as Vera Drake Phil Davis as Stan Drake Daniel Mays as Sid Drake Alex Kelly as Ethel Drake Sandra Voe as Vera's Mother Eddie Marsan as Reg Adrian Scarborough as Frank Drake Heather Craney as Joyce Drake Sally Hawkins as Susan Ruth Sheen as Lily Lesley Sharp as Jessie Barnes Liz White as Pamela Barnes Peter Wight as Det. Inspector Webster Martin Savage as Det. Sergeant Vickers Jim Broadbent as Judge Simon Chandler as Mr. Wells Lesley Manville as Mrs. Wells Marion Bailey as Mrs. Fowler Background In Vera Drake, Leigh incorporated elements of his own childhood. He grew up in north Salford, Lancashire, and experienced a very ordinary but socio-economically mixed life as the son of a doctor and a midwife. In the book The Cinema of Mike Leigh: A Sense of the Real, Leigh said, "I lived in this particular kind of working-class district with some relations living in slightly leafier districts up the road. So there was always a tension, or at least a duality: those two worlds were forever colliding. So you constantly get the one world and its relationship with the other going on in my films." Production Mike Leigh is known to use unusual methods to achieve realism in his films. "Leigh's actors literally have to find their characters through improvisation and research the ways people in specific communities speak and behave. Leigh and his cast immerse themselves in the local life before creating the story" (1994: 7: Watson 29). Critic Roger Ebert explains: Leigh often uses improvisation to capture his actors' unscripted emotions. When filming Vera Drake, only Imelda Staunton knew ahead of time that