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IMDbPro

Secrets & Lies

  • 19961996
  • RR
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
43K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,787
471
Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies (1996)
Home video trailer from October Films
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
35 Photos
ComedyDrama
Following the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East Lo... Read allFollowing the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.Following the death of her adoptive parents, a successful young black optometrist establishes contact with her biological mother -- a lonely white factory worker living in poverty in East London.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
43K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
5,787
471
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Mike Leigh
    • Writer
      • Mike Leigh
    • Stars
      • Timothy Spall
      • Brenda Blethyn
      • Phyllis Logan
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Mike Leigh
    • Writer
      • Mike Leigh
    • Stars
      • Timothy Spall
      • Brenda Blethyn
      • Phyllis Logan
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 177User reviews
    • 67Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
    • Nominated for 5 Oscars
      • 36 wins & 47 nominations total

    Videos1

    Secrets & Lies
    Trailer 0:31
    Secrets & Lies

    Photos35

    Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Imelda Staunton and Mike Leigh in Bleak Moments (1971)
    Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Timothy Spall in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall in Secrets & Lies (1996)
    Timothy Spall and Phyllis Logan in Secrets & Lies (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Timothy Spall
    Timothy Spall
    • Maurice
    Brenda Blethyn
    Brenda Blethyn
    • Cynthia
    Phyllis Logan
    Phyllis Logan
    • Monica
    Claire Rushbrook
    Claire Rushbrook
    • Roxanne
    Marianne Jean-Baptiste
    Marianne Jean-Baptiste
    • Hortense
    Elizabeth Berrington
    Elizabeth Berrington
    • Jane
    Michele Austin
    Michele Austin
    • Dionne
    Lee Ross
    Lee Ross
    • Paul
    Lesley Manville
    Lesley Manville
    • Social Worker
    Ron Cook
    Ron Cook
    • Stuart
    Emma Amos
    Emma Amos
    • Girl with Scar
    Brian Bovell
    • Hortense's Brother
    Trevor Laird
    Trevor Laird
    • Hortense's Brother
    Clare Perkins
    Clare Perkins
    • Hortense's Sister-in-Law
    Elias Perkins McCook
    • Hortense's Nephew
    Jane Mitchell
    • Senior Optometrist
    • (as June Mitchell)
    Janice Acquah
    • Junior Optician
    Keylee Jade Flanders
    Keylee Jade Flanders
    • Girl in Optician's
    • (as Keeley Flanders)
    • Director
      • Mike Leigh
    • Writer
      • Mike Leigh
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To add a spontaneous effect to the performances, Mike Leigh met with each actor individually and only told them what their character would know at the beginning of the film. As filming progressed the actors were hearing the secrets for the very first time. Brenda Blethyn, for instance, didn't know that Marianne Jean-Baptiste was black.
    • Goofs
      A statement of Hortense's suggests that her family comes from Barbados, and a stamp on a letter among her adoptive mother's papers is almost identifiable as Barbadian on my DVD, but when she puts on a West Indian accent in one scene, apparently imitating her mother, it sounds like broad Jamaican or generic "West Indian", certainly not Bajan, which is a very distinctive accent. However, her decision to playfully mock her mother by using a generic accent may have been intentional.
    • 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!

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Extreme Measures/Secrets & Lies/2 Days in the Valley/Caught/Ed's Next Move (1996)
    • 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 Roxanne's birthday party

    User reviews177

    Review
    Top review
    Brenda Blethyn deserved the Oscar
    I am watching this film for the 4th time. Each time, I am amazed at Ms. Blethyn's (and all of the actors') performance and the brilliant script and direction. Ms. Blethyn's scene during the first phone call from "Hortense" should have been enough to earn her the Oscar right then and there. Ms. Blethyn continues to show her tremendous talent and range since "Secrets." How Frances McDormand won the Oscar by walking around in the snow and saying "Yah" I will never understand. Has anyone seen anything McDormand's done since then?
    helpful•18
    8
    • mikenpeter
    • Oct 4, 2001

    FAQ1

    • Did Paul cause the accident that scarred the woman Maurice photographs?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 28, 1997 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • France
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Secretos y mentiras
    • Filming locations
      • Junction of Whitehouse Way and Hampden Way, Southgate, London, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Channel Four Films
      • CiBy 2000
      • Thin Man Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $4,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $13,417,292
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $60,813
      • Sep 29, 1996
    • Gross worldwide
      • $13,417,292
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 16 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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