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Secrets & Lies

  • 1996
  • R
  • 2h 16m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
45K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,720
1,658
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.

  • Director
    • Mike Leigh
  • Writer
    • Mike Leigh
  • Stars
    • Timothy Spall
    • Brenda Blethyn
    • Phyllis Logan
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    45K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,720
    1,658
    • Director
      • Mike Leigh
    • Writer
      • Mike Leigh
    • Stars
      • Timothy Spall
      • Brenda Blethyn
      • Phyllis Logan
    • 187User reviews
    • 70Critic reviews
    • 91Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 5 Oscars
      • 36 wins & 47 nominations total

    Videos1

    Secrets & Lies
    Trailer 0:31
    Watch Secrets & Lies

    Photos35

    Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in 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
    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
      When Roxanne pushes Cynthia onto the bed, the shadow of a crew member's head is seen moving on the bed.
    • 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 Siskel & Ebert: 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 reviews187

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Top 5 Film Class Movies: FILM #5
    In honor of my film class wrapping up this week, I will be counting down my top five favorite films we have watched for class. I begin with my #5 choice, Secrets and Lies, a Mike Leigh drama/comedy about the secrets and lies (shock) that tear apart a dysfunctional British family. Brenda Blethyn plays Cynthia Purley, the very dramatic and always crying single mother who is one day contacted by the daughter she gave up for adoption…who happens to be black. The look on Blethyn's face is priceless as she flashes back to a one night stand she had as a young lady.

    Most would think Leigh's story would revolve around race relations, which is not the case at all (race is never an issue). Instead he revolves his story around the Purley family, a unit so torn apart from over the years that a simple family cook out turns into a soap opera. "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!" This memorable quote comes from Maurice Purley, brother to Cynthia and talented photographer. Maurice is your classic good guy, the passive patriarch who always tries to hold the family together. (The irony around his character is that he cannot conceive a child with his wife, Monica). You almost feel sorry for the successful Hortense, as if she would be better off not knowing her birth mother at all.

    The actors are so talented in this film that Leigh, at times, uses no cuts during a scene. The camera stays in one spot as the actors' play out scenes that can last 10-15 minutes. After you get past the difficult British dialect (you may want to use captions while watching), you will feel as if you are that nosey neighbor who can't help but listen and enjoy the problems this family confronts…and that's no lie.
    helpful•39
    13
    • jmille42
    • Jul 25, 2005

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    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(Roxanne and Paul sit at the bus stop)
    • Production companies
      • CiBy 2000
      • Channel Four Films
      • 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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