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Secrets & Lies (1996) 7.9
Ratings:
7.9/10 from 20,256 users
Metascore: 91/100
Reviews: 117 user | 57 critic | 27 from Metacritic.com Successful black woman traces her birth mother to a lower-class white woman, who denies it; emotions run high as everyone's secrets are exposed. Director:Mike LeighWriter:Mike Leigh |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Timothy Spall | ... | ||
| Phyllis Logan | ... |
Monica Purley
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| Brenda Blethyn | ... | ||
| Claire Rushbrook | ... | ||
| Marianne Jean-Baptiste | ... | ||
| Elizabeth Berrington | ... |
Jane
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Michele Austin | ... |
Dionne
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| Lee Ross | ... |
Paul
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| Lesley Manville | ... |
Social Worker
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| Ron Cook | ... |
Stuart
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Emma Amos | ... |
Girl with Scar
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Brian Bovell | ... |
Hortense's Brother
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Trevor Laird | ... |
Hortense's Brother
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Clare Perkins | ... |
Hortense's Sister-in-Law
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Elias Perkins McCook | ... |
Hortense's Nephew
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
Cynthia lives in London with her sullen street-sweeper daughter. Her brother has been successful with his photographer's business and now lives nearby in a more upmarket house. But Cynthia hasn't even been invited round there after a year. So, all round, she feels rather lonely and isolated. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Hortense, adopted at birth but now grown up, starts to try and trace her mother. Written by Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Taglines:
Roxanne drives her mother crazy. Maurice never speaks to his niece. Cynthia has a shock for her family. Monica can't talk to her husband. Hortense has never met her mother.Genres:
DramaParents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
25 October 1996 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Secretos y mentiras See more »Box Office
Budget:
$4,500,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
JPY 8,507,150 (Japan) (20 December 1996)Gross:
$13,417,292 (USA) (16 May 1997)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
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IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Dolby SRColor:
Color (Metrocolor)Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1
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Words by Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill (as Mildred Hill)
© Keith Prowse Music Pub Co. Ltd./EMI
Sung by the family at Hortense's birthday party
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Did You Know?
Trivia
Most of the script was improvised. Writer/director Mike Leigh told each of the actors what his/her part in the story was and they each developed their own characters. See more »Goofs
When Roxanne pushes Cynthia onto the bed, the shadow of a crew member's head is seen moving on the bed. See more »Quotes
Maurice: Secrets and lies! We're all in pain! Why can't we share our pain? I've spent my entire life trying to make people happy, and the three people I love the most in the world hate each other's guts, and I'm in the middle! I can't take it anymore!See more »
Soundtracks
"Happy Birthday to You"Words by Patty S. Hill & Mildred J. Hill (as Mildred Hill)
© Keith Prowse Music Pub Co. Ltd./EMI
Sung by the family at Hortense's birthday party
See more »
I've only seen a few Mike Leigh films. FOUR DAYS IN JULY(I think that was the title) was a film I would have liked except back when I saw it, I wasn't able to handle thick accents, so I couldn't understand it. LIFE IS SWEET and CAREER GIRLS are slight but highly enjoyable. NAKED features a terrific performance by David Thewlis but has a surprisingly misogynist streak in it. But the best of all of them is SECRETS AND LIES. 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!" You're too engrossed by the story, the emotions it brings up, and the performances. Particularly those of Blethyn, Jean-Baptiste(especially her first scene in the adoption agency), and Spall. I could identify with all of them, and was caught up in what happened to them. And although there's no neat resolution, there is some hope at the end. A great movie.