Secrets and Lies (1996)
Secrets and Lies (1996)
(Mike Leigh, UK 1996, 136 min., 35mm)
Director Mike Leigh is well known for working extensively with actors and developing their characters and arcs in rehearsal to create distinctive narratives of the British working class. He reached one of his many career peaks with Secrets & Lies. Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a London optometrist, decides to trace her family history after the death of her adoptive mother. Her search leads her to Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), a factory worker and single mother. Cynthia has her own issues with her secretive daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook), and her estranged relationship with her brother and his wife. Hortense and Cynthia begin spending more time together, and the past collides with the present as the family prepares for Roxanne’s 21st birthday party.