David O'ConnellSecrets and Lies
December 9th 2008 03:39
Mike Leigh’s social realism reaches a heart-wrenching peak in this astonishing 1996 film about lives pushed to the edge of destruction because of a host of damaging Secrets and Lies. The cathartic climax, where all the seething resentments of many troubled pasts reach boiling point, is masterfully staged over a 30 minute period and set at a barbeque, all the main characters finally united in a single scene.
The film begins with a woman's funeral, the mother of Hortense Cumberbatch (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who has known since the age of 7, however, that she adopted. With a new void opening in her life, she soonafter decides the time is right to make the first tentative steps in confronting her true identity by tracking down the woman who gave birth to her.
It takes a while for Hortense to summon the courage to act upon her new knowledge, and all the while Leigh offers glimpses into the parallel lives of her birth mother, Cynthia Purley (Brenda Blethyn), who has her own 21 year-old daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook). The pair has a poor relationship, further exacerbated by their downtrodden, lower-class existences - Cynthia miserable and stuck in a menial factory job, whilst Roxanne seems to refuse imagining life beyond her lowly street-sweeping council job.
Then there’s Cynthia’s younger brother Maurice (Timothy Spall), a successful photographer with a new property, but an unhappy home life with his wife Monica (Phyllis Logan), who seems on the verge of an emotional breakdown, suffering from internal conflicts whose source is only revealed in the final major scene.
After the initial shock and then disbelief that Hortense, a young black woman, could be her daughter, Cynthia’s life begins to gather motivation again as she takes bold strides in creating a bond with the child she gave away as a pregnant 15 year-old.
They discover that a genuine mutual fondness for one another exists, and finally, Cynthia decides she would like to initiate Hortense into her life in a more substantial way, but it’s a tricky proposition with huge risks involved. Maurice arranges a 21st party for Roxanne and Cynthia invites Hortense under the pretense that she’s a new work friend. Things begin well at the barbeque but awkward social niceties pushed aside, the secrets and lies can’t remain hidden for much longer if these people’s lives are to continue.
As is typical of Leigh’s films, his characters are damaged goods in some fundamental way, their relationships deteriorating over time, never confronting the truths that have prevented them from a sense of true progress in their lives.
Cynthia is haunted by the daughter she gave away, the miserable state of her relationship with Roxanne and Maurice, and the way her sister-in-law has pushed her away; Monica by her physical incapacity to be the woman she’s always wanted, and Maurice himself by his resentment towards his father after the death of his mother.
Socially repressed by circumstance, and haunted by poor choices in life, Cynthia is still a deeply empathetic character with a sense of humour that’s endearing, and Blethyn gives a staggering performance. The acute emotional pitch she sustains in some scenes is gut-wrenching, especially her first meeting with Hortense, a long take in a coffee shop in which the revelation of her forgotten child’s true origins are brought to light.
The rest of the cast is just as good, relative newcomer Jean-Baptiste shining with her easy grace and affable nature, whilst the reliable Spall is a strong foundation as the damaged brother determined to confront the truth and make the entire family believers.
A moving slice of life as only Mike Leigh can present it, Secrets and Lies is both a heart-breaking and heart-warming gem, rightly lauded for its brutal honesty but also for its unwavering humanity - in the end, full of dangerous flaws and shortcomings, these people are just like us.
The film begins with a woman's funeral, the mother of Hortense Cumberbatch (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who has known since the age of 7, however, that she adopted. With a new void opening in her life, she soonafter decides the time is right to make the first tentative steps in confronting her true identity by tracking down the woman who gave birth to her.
It takes a while for Hortense to summon the courage to act upon her new knowledge, and all the while Leigh offers glimpses into the parallel lives of her birth mother, Cynthia Purley (Brenda Blethyn), who has her own 21 year-old daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook). The pair has a poor relationship, further exacerbated by their downtrodden, lower-class existences - Cynthia miserable and stuck in a menial factory job, whilst Roxanne seems to refuse imagining life beyond her lowly street-sweeping council job.
Then there’s Cynthia’s younger brother Maurice (Timothy Spall), a successful photographer with a new property, but an unhappy home life with his wife Monica (Phyllis Logan), who seems on the verge of an emotional breakdown, suffering from internal conflicts whose source is only revealed in the final major scene.
Brenda Blethyn gives one of her best performances as Cynthia.
After the initial shock and then disbelief that Hortense, a young black woman, could be her daughter, Cynthia’s life begins to gather motivation again as she takes bold strides in creating a bond with the child she gave away as a pregnant 15 year-old.
They discover that a genuine mutual fondness for one another exists, and finally, Cynthia decides she would like to initiate Hortense into her life in a more substantial way, but it’s a tricky proposition with huge risks involved. Maurice arranges a 21st party for Roxanne and Cynthia invites Hortense under the pretense that she’s a new work friend. Things begin well at the barbeque but awkward social niceties pushed aside, the secrets and lies can’t remain hidden for much longer if these people’s lives are to continue.
Timothy Spall as Maurice
As is typical of Leigh’s films, his characters are damaged goods in some fundamental way, their relationships deteriorating over time, never confronting the truths that have prevented them from a sense of true progress in their lives.
Cynthia is haunted by the daughter she gave away, the miserable state of her relationship with Roxanne and Maurice, and the way her sister-in-law has pushed her away; Monica by her physical incapacity to be the woman she’s always wanted, and Maurice himself by his resentment towards his father after the death of his mother.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Hortense
Socially repressed by circumstance, and haunted by poor choices in life, Cynthia is still a deeply empathetic character with a sense of humour that’s endearing, and Blethyn gives a staggering performance. The acute emotional pitch she sustains in some scenes is gut-wrenching, especially her first meeting with Hortense, a long take in a coffee shop in which the revelation of her forgotten child’s true origins are brought to light.
The rest of the cast is just as good, relative newcomer Jean-Baptiste shining with her easy grace and affable nature, whilst the reliable Spall is a strong foundation as the damaged brother determined to confront the truth and make the entire family believers.
A moving slice of life as only Mike Leigh can present it, Secrets and Lies is both a heart-breaking and heart-warming gem, rightly lauded for its brutal honesty but also for its unwavering humanity - in the end, full of dangerous flaws and shortcomings, these people are just like us.
One of the film's best scenes, with Cynthia confronting the past with Hortense
| 94 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
The trailer can be found.............here!
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Next on my list is Happy Go Lucky, I'm ashamed that I didn't see it at the cinema.
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
All their lives are painful ones to watch at times, but it's a life-affirming film too. And a very important one, that's for sure. I'd rate it alongside Naked as his best work.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I feel like I need to see Naked again...I watched it at a distracting time so it's not as vivid as it should be.
Blethyn is incredible, I love her work.
Such a fine, fine film.