Secrets & Lies (1996)

A successful black woman discovers that her birth mother is a lower-class white woman, but the woman denies it. As emotions run high, everyone's secrets are exposed.

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh

Stars:

Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 36 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Spall	...	Maurice
Phyllis Logan	...	Monica
Brenda Blethyn	...	Cynthia
Claire Rushbrook	...	Roxanne
Marianne Jean-Baptiste	...	Hortense
Elizabeth Berrington	...	Jane
Michele Austin	...	Dionne
Lee Ross	...	Paul
Lesley Manville	...	Social Worker
Ron Cook	...	Stuart
Emma Amos	...	Girl with Scar
Brian Bovell	...	Hortense's Brothers
Trevor Laird	...	Hortense's Brothers
Clare Perkins	...	Hortense's Sister-in-Law
Elias Perkins McCook	...	Hortense's Nephew

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.

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Plot Keywords:

birth mother | biological mother | ampersand in title | african anglo | female protagonist | 

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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.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

France UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Secrets & Lies

Filming Locations:

Holborn Underground Station, Holborn, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$4,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$60,813 (USA) (27 September 1996)

Gross:

$13,417,292 (USA) (16 May 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, CiBy 2000, Thin Man Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

136 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mike Leigh and Brenda Blethyn were both born on February 20th. Mike is exactly 3 years older than her.

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Goofs

Cynthia's address on Hortense's birth certificate is shown as Quilter St, London SE17. The first time Hortense drives there, the street sign shows Quilter St, E2.

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Quotes

Cynthia Purley: Where's this food, then? I'm ravishin'.
[Hortense laughs]
Cynthia Purley: What?
[Hortense chuckles]

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Connections

Referenced in 12 Angry Men (1997)

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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

User Reviews

Quietly powerful

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.