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Secrets & Lies (1996) 7.9
Ratings:
7.9/10 from 20,287 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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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:
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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
on
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
Mike Leigh and Brenda Blethyn were both born on February 20th. Mike is exactly 3 years older than her. 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 »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 »
Mike Leigh's superb comedy-drama of family relationships. Heart-rending, bitter and delightful by turn
Leigh's modern classic captured a brace of Oscar nominations but went home empty handed in the face of The English Patient's near clean sweep. Even Blethyn's Cannes-winning performance lost out to Frances McDormand's Fargo turn (hard to challenge this decision, although in any other year the brilliant Blethyn would have deserved to win). The film eventually racked up a considerable number of awards, its Oscar success aside.
The story, every bit as believable and real as the rest of Leigh's work, centres on a woman, Cynthia Purley (Blethyn ), whose mid-life crisis is further exacerbated by the appearance on the scene of the daughter she gave away at birth, the wonderfully named Hortense Cumberbatch (Baptiste) - a young, beautiful, professional black woman who causes a few eyebrows to be raised in the family, and forces Cynthia to come to terms with her past.
Alternating between high comedy, scathing one-liners (Blethyn telling daughter Rushbrook she has a face like a "slapped arse" is a moment to treasure) and tear-jerking poignancy, with Spall, Rushbrook and Baptiste all offering strong support, this is nothing short of superb.
Verdict A genuine hit for Mike Leigh, Secrets And Lies has the coarse grain of real life, sympathetically and affirmingly fashioned.