Cynthia is the main character, but the heart of the film beats in Maurice, who is the only member of this fiercely judgmental family open enough to speak of the secrets and lies that allow them to keep their true selves safely hidden from their supposed "loved ones.". But methinks I've been too harsh - the scenario is not so unlikely, and Blethyn does a pretty good job.

Soon Hortense and Cynthia have struck up a friendship; Cynthia, who is not in the habit of going out, suddenly finds herself doing so frequently, catching the attention of Roxanne, who is confused by her mother's secrecy. Surrounded by the crushingly depressing scenes of working class British life, this LONG movie takes work to sit through and the glimpses of intelligent film-making are too brief to save it. It also received five Oscar nominations at the 69th Academy Awards ceremony. As in all of Leigh's films, the performances were created through months of intensive improvisation: Leigh and the actors slowly created the characters together. Perhaps the plot takes a little time to develop, but the end is full of surprises. This is an intense movie but it is not without beauty and hope. How Frances McDormand won the Oscar by walking around in the snow and saying "Yah" I will never understand. It is an extremely well-done movie, and the performances were among the best of the year. Comments? Cynthia then explains that Roxanne's father was an American medical student vacationing in Benidorm whom she met at a pub. There is humor, pathos, and the usual jump to conclusions on the part of the characters depicted. With modern films placing so much emphasis on visuals and sound & the stage specializing in avant-garde drama or comedy, it's rare to find old-fashioned storytelling outside of books.

Each is stunned to find something about the other that neither knew: that the mother is white and the daughter is black!

If this were your average movie, that would be the story right there, but Leigh is concerned with much more than the obvious gulf between a poor white woman and her successful black offspring. Few have done it as well as "Secrets & Lies." This is one of Mike Leigh's finest works. I am very keen on Leigh's work, but it does sometimes stretch credibility and sometimes stretches one's attention span. Few have done it as well as "Secrets & Lies." [5], Influential film critic Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times gave Secrets & Lies four out of four stars. This is one of my very favorite movies of the last 10, even 20 years. After hearing so many very positive comments about this movie I finally succumbed and rented it. It is an extremely well-done movie, and the performances were among the best of the year.

My heart went out to the two lead characters as they struggled to make sense of the mutual bond unearthed by Ms. Jean-Baptiste's character. Although the movie was well acted and the subject intriguing, the well-crafted aspects did not overcome the labourious pace, disjointed delivery, and sheer unpleasantness of almost all the main female characters. Particularly those of Blethyn, Jean-Baptiste(especially her first scene in the adoption agency), and Spall. Leigh was inspired by "people close to [him] who have had adoption-related experiences" to make a film about adoption. Particularly those of Blethyn, Jean-Baptiste(especially her first scene in the adoption agency), and Spall.

Here is a question which has dogged me each time I watch this film - and I have seen it over 40 times: Two times during the film, Cynthia Purley (Brenda Blethyn) discusses the circumstances under which her daughter, Hortense Cumberbatch (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) was born - but when Hortense asks who her father is, Cynthia cannot say.

Here he gives us Hortense, whose name would have been Elizabeth Pearly, had her mother not given her up for adoption. I've seen this movie four times now and waited before writing a review, waited to see if my first spell-bound viewing could be matched by the others that would follow. Hortense Cumberbatch, a successful black middle class optometrist in London who was adopted as a child, has chosen to trace her family history after the death of her adoptive mother. Secrets and lies . Nevertheless, it is a great motion picture.

Cynthia and Monica reconcile. Trying to make sense of family dynamics -- in all their raging dysfunction -- has been the theme of too many films to count.

If film means anything to you, if emotional truth is a quality you care about, this is an event that ought not be missed [...] Unforced, confident and completely involving, with exceptional acting aided by Dick Pope's unobtrusive camera work and John Gregory's telling editing, Secrets & Lies is filmmaking to savor.

Jean-Baptiste provides a stark contrast as the cool-headed but intense young woman who might be repulsed by the coarse, painful world in which Cynthia lives, yet never shows any reluctance to enter it. In the end, it's better to simply be honest and trustworthy. The look on Blethyn's face is priceless as she flashes back to a one night stand she had as a young lady.

After the deaths of her adoptive parents, urbane young London optometrist Hortense (Jean-Baptiste) searches for her biological origins and locates her mother: alcoholic, neurotic, once-promiscuous factory worker Cynthia (Blethyn, in one of the finest film performances of all time). It took a second viewing of Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies' to reveal the depth of its genius. Fill out our Feedback Form. A real-life drama full of interest, lightened with splashes of comedy, and has an almost 'documentary' feel thanks to a great cast.

Enter Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a self-possessed, articulate young optometrist who, after the death of her remaining adoptive parent, does research and discovers her biological mother. | I should have trusted my instincts! His movies are amazing. The slowly dawning moment when Cynthia recalls her brief encounter with Hortense's father is classic, and both actresses run through a wide range of emotions, ending with an unexpected bond between two wildly different people. The place is empty; something significant must happen. Behind all of this is a beautifully operatic score that creates the perfect ambiance to the entire work. During the meal Hortense evasively answers the many questions that are put to her by the other guests. This was the best picture of 1996, make no mistake about it ! google_ad_format = "468x60_as";

The pair continue to converse, asking questions about one another's lives. You can literally feel her growing joy in Hortense and how beautiful a person she is. It is filled with comical moments that balance out some of the heavier parts of the film. He declared it "an extended, multilayered revelation, and you don’t get the full, complex picture until the final scene.

At once confused, hurt, shocked and afraid, Ms. Blethyn is completely convincing in her role.

Roxanne reveals that she would be happy to introduce Hortense as her half-sister notwithstanding the long explanations that it would entail. Has anyone seen anything McDormand's done since then?

Another IMDB member wrote: [snip] In this film Brenda Blethen concocts an accent that is so. Wonderful, character-driven movie- Mike Leigh's genius strikes again! However, when Monica inadvertently confirms it as true, Roxanne is horrified and storms out of the house.

I am watching this film for the 4th time.

Like his other films, it's entirely improvised by the actors from an outline Leigh writes, but unlike some of those types of movies, you're never left saying, "Okay, cut already!" Unlike American films attempting to tackle such a tangle of relationships, the British do so in a manner which spares the viewer not one inch for syrupy happy endings or sterilised overpasses where difficult subjects are concerned. One character struggles with infertility. There is a poignant metaphor in the brother Morris' career as a photographer, as his subjects attempt to cover the stories in their faces long enough to smile for the camera. Heart-rending, bitter and delightful by turn. And Ms. Jean-Baptiste's portrayal of a woman who is surprised by her discovery and not a little disappointed was dead-on, as is her dogged determination to get what she came after. This is a film about characters and performances, nuance and small gestures that convince us we are dealing with real life. Brenda Blethyn was not told beforehand that Hortense was black, making her reaction in this scene more authentic.

In addition to publishing its own journals, the division also provides traditional and digital publishing services to many client scholarly societies and associations. Through a variety of small, seemingly random but fascinating illustrations like the Canterbury Tales, the film hammers home its theme: that lying & deception become not just easy but casual in an age that emphasizes individualism & responsibility, where you assume that no one, not even the closest of your relatives, wants to hear about your problems. google_color_text = "FFFFFF";

Cynthia's younger brother Maurice is a successful photographer who lives in the suburbs with his wife Monica.

Founded in 1893, University of California Press, Journals and Digital Publishing Division, disseminates scholarship of enduring value. This is a drama for adults only.

We see that being truthful and honest for your entire life is ultimately the best decision, regardless of how hard it may be.

Film Quarterly, published since 1958, provides readers with insightful analyses of film, the film industry, and international cinemas. And these were jumping off points for a film which turns out to be an exploration of roots and identity."[3]. Cynthia's daughter Roxanne (Rushbrook) is coming of age and exploring love, work and independence while struggling between the love, pity, resentment & disgust she holds for her mother.

Secrets and Lies (d. Mike Leigh, 1996) looks at the lives of Black and White Britons and tries to imagine a way in which both can begin to share the same family blood link. A great movie. The way Leigh weaves a story here - no screenplay, just tell the actors what the scenes are supposed to do, give them an outline, but don't give away the punch line or the ending - shows up in the final print. When asked if Secrets and Lies emphases on a race aspect, Mike Leigh replies, it’s not what he focuses on and he also indicates that its only idiots who do think that way about the fact that Hortense is black and Cynthia is white because, some don’t even know that it is 1996 and people have learned to live with the race issue behind in some societies. This is one of Mike Leigh's finest works. She has found a guy and they grope at each other at every opportunity, so her life isn't a total write-off. Hey, people, you're 'merkans, and this language is supposed to be you mothertongue, it ain't mine, and I can nevertheless cope, so what ?? I could identify with all of them, and was caught up in what happened to them.

With a personal account, you can read up to 100 articles each month for free. Rather than help one another, each suffers alone, while every lie they so readily spin must constantly be fed with more deception.



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