classicsoncall
It's difficult not to be overwhelmed by the emotional upheaval of a character like Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) throughout the story. There aren't many moments when she's in a rational state of calm, instead she's reacting hysterically to all the dysfunctional family theatrics surrounding her. One has to admit though, learning that she's the white mother of a black daughter can be somewhat unnerving once it's ultimately revealed. The story took a step in the direction of how something like that could be but dropped the ball without clarifying the point. As the viewer we don't know and can only speculate. Whether Cynthia carried on with a black man after (other) daughter Roxanne's (Claire Rushbrook) absent father hit the road, or if she was assaulted and raped, one must come to your own conclusion. The shocking realization in Cynthia's mind is not made aware to the viewer.It might have helped the story if any of the principal players had an appealing look and personality, but then again, when dealing with real life, this is what one often winds up with. I had a tendency to keep my eye on background characters like Jane (Elizabeth Berrington) and Paul (Lee Ross) when things reached critical mass, and they wound up simply there with virtually no visual response. Personally, I would have been mortified and looking for a quick exit. The scene with Stuart (Ron Cook) seems rather odd now in retrospect since it didn't connect with anything else going on, except perhaps to convey class differences in the midst of a story dealing with a potential racial issue. When all was said and done, it appeared that the family dynamic resolved itself rather quickly, which for the sake of the film was necessary but hardly seemed realistic. It's difficult to imagine the trauma induced by suddenly becoming a bi-racial family would have been alleviated in such a short time span, but at least it ended with everyone still breathing. I'd be on the fence on recommending this one because it's not comfortable to watch, and if one is in a mood for entertainment, this will take you in a different direction.
Paul Visseq
Good morning,I'm here to tell you about "Secrets and Lies", a movie by Mike Leigh.I must give credits to him because he worked without a script but to me this film is wack.It's about a dull family story with bad actors like the girl who plays Cynthia.She overplays her role, she is crying during the whole movie and her voice is just irritating.There were many attempts to make the audience laugh but it was a failure, humor is too light.Thank Lord I had the mental to stay in the cinema for two hours to watch that and I almost fainted when I remembered that I had paid four euros for that.I gave this movie three stars just because of actor's improvisation, otherwise I would have put only one star, it was very annoying and Timothy Spall acted like he doesn't care when we met him, he was emotionless.
quinimdb
The characters of "Secrets and Lies" contain just as much regret as they do, well... secrets and lies. The film revolves around various sides of one family, including one woman that was set up for adoption at birth and separated from her family. I will start to explain why this film is so great with a brief description of each character.Let me start by saying every performance and every character in this film is memorable, specifically the sudden appearances of the beauty agent that had been in a car crash, and the previous owner of one character'study photography business, both two examples of characters that "drew the short end of the stick" and were forced to live with it, but they were miserable because they would dwell on it. But I'll only be going into the main ones. Cynthia Parley is a single mother who has no living parents, but still keeps her father's room with all of his belongings in it. She has had to work all of her life and give and give and give and yet now she has no one, besides Maurice, her brother, who she rarely sees. She looks at herself now and knows that she isn't nearly as attractive as she used to be, and she has wasted the chance she got. Her daughter, Roxanne, hates her, probably because she feels so unwanted by her mother, so she often spends her time with her boyfriend. Roxanne's uncle, Maurice, has to put up with his wife, Monica, who is going through testing to see if she can somehow have a child. They have been keeping this testing a secret for many years. This is slowly bringing these two apart, but Maurice is patient and thoughtful, but also like the many other characters, regretful of many things. Particularly never having given his father the love that he should've while he was alive, since he hated his father for never talking about his mother, but now he understands that he didn't want to talk about her because it was tearing him apart inside. And then there's Hortense Cumberbatch, who Cynthia set up for adoption at birth and barely even remembers. But when Hortense's adopted mother dies, she feels that she needs to reunite with her real mother because maybe she just needs to know that there is someone out there that is still really connected to her. She calls Cynthia, who is in a position at that moment in which her daughter has just rejected her. Cynthia feels mixed emotions, but finally agrees to meet her. They begin to meet more often and get to know each other, and in a way, Hortense is the only person Cynthia is completely honest with for a while. Then Cynthia invites Hortense to a barbecue that Maurice is holding for Roxanne's 21st birthday, but doesn't want to tell her family yet that Hortense is her daughter, so she claims she is just a friend from work.Cynthia's first reaction to her brothers house is awe, and obvious jealousy at how nice it is. However, Monica takes it for granted, as she has her own personal problems. Then they go outside to eat dinner. This scene is shot in several very long takes, in which the dialogue bounces from one character to the next at a fast pace, occasionally in two separate conversations. It is normal small talk, but because of Hortense, Cynthia, and Monica, it feels like there is a ticking time bomb beneath the table as they speak. Maurice is very playful with Roxanne and Roxanne clearly likes Maurice more than her own mother. Cynthia seems like she is trying to show off Hortense while also trying to hide the fact that Hortense is her daughter, which creates some very awkward moments. But when Monica and Maurice hand Roxanne her gift, Cynthia realizes that she doesn't have one, or even worse, Roxanne might not even care if she did. This sets her off, and she finally confesses that Hortense is her daughter. For the rest of the film, the camera work seems to be mostly close ups and shots of single people in the frame, in contrast with the earlier wide, long shots which included everyone in the frame. This obviously infuriates Roxanne, who takes it out on everyone for keeping the secret from her, and storms out of the room. Then Monica insults Cynthia for not treating her child right, to which Cynthia responds yelling at Monica because she regrets giving them money in the past to get Maurice's company started when she got nothing in return. This leads to a back and forth which leads to Cynthia saying "You wanna try bringing up a child on your own?", which of course leads to Monicas secret of infertility being revealed, and Maurice finally letting out the frustration that these secrets and lies had caused that he'd been holding in for the entire film.The film ends on a surprisingly lighter note, but the characters earn it, and it's not sappy and melodramatic but simple and believable. Everyone has regrets, but these regrets shouldn't lead to more secrets and lies from the ones we love, since all we can do now is live with what we have and not telling the truth will only pull you further apart from those who you need to keep close. The characters learn this lesson the hard way, so those who watch the film don't have to.
