Hard Times

In the industrial town of Cocktown lives the eccentric millionaire Thomas Gradgrind. He seems to be a decent man, genuinely not averse to charity, but simply cannot bear emotions, worships the sobriety of mind, and precise facts. It is hard for children to grow up in his home, both his own offspring and the ward – the daughter of a wandering circus performer named Sissy. Suppressed passions simmer for years and explode when the young Gradgrinds come of age. Beautiful Louise, who married a rude and brazen millionaire banker without love, falls under the spell of a cynical London dandy. The debauchee Tom becomes increasingly entangled in drunkenness and debts. And it seems that Sissy is the only one who can prevent the destruction of such a small and hospitable home...