Secrets & Lies

SECRETS AND LIES is a 1996 film by Mike Leigh that, appropriately enough, is concerned with the things that members of a family conceal from each other. Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a black woman in London who has made a successful career as an optician, knew from a young age that she was adopted, but only after her adopted mother's death does she decide to look up her birth mother. Horte...

If I ever get around to drawing up a list of my top 25 favorite non-blockbuster movies, Secrets and Lies would roll in very near the top. I have watched it a few times and expect I will continue to do so periodically. The acting is phenomenal. It is an ensemble cast, for sure, no superstars, but three of the main actors: Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn and Claire Rushbrook, are among the best tha...

**A good work, currently forgotten.** Just when I think I've seen all sorts of movies about racism, issues of race or prejudice, there's something new that comes out of nowhere, or some meritorious, well-made effort that's worth seeing. This film, initially, seemed to me just a sweet and average drama in which a black woman, very successful, decides to discover the identity of her biological mo...

_Secrets & Lies_ is a compelling film that delves into the themes of family, identity, and the profound impact of shame on relationships. It skillfully intertwines raw emotion with a sense of honesty that reverberates throughout the narrative. The performances are remarkably authentic, fostering a strong connection with the characters and their struggles with their own secrets. The dialogue fee...

I reckon the fact that so many nations put this on their awards radar must suggest a lot of resonance with families, not just in Britain, who are having to come to terms with a myriad of contentious circumstances as they try to live day to day. This centres around the drink-loving “Cynthia” (Brenda Blethyn) who lives with a daughter “Roxanne” (Claire Rushbrook) who has a lively rapport with her bo...