Summary:
A young successful black woman discovers her birth mother is an underprivileged white woman. The revelation has repercussions that echo through their extended families.
My Thoughts:
My first contact with the films of Mike Leigh was with “Topsy-Turvy”, his delightful biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan, the Victorian era theatre troupe responsible for plays like The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado. That film impressed me not only with it’s masterful direction (many of the scenes were lengthy takes that simply allowed the actors to act through the entire scene), the complicated and compelling cast of characters, and wonderfully realistic and subtextual dialogue, but also the beautiful mis-en-scene and attention to detail. Leigh was a director who grabbed my attention immediately, and I knew that I needed to see more of his work, and soon. So when we sat down to plan out our UK Series I thought to myself that this would be a perfect time to dip back into Leigh, and I was thrilled that I did. While “Secrets & Lies” is nothing like the light-hearted and fun “Topsy-Turvy”, this film was full of emotion; revelations and redemptions, hurt and healing, grief and recovery. By the time this film finished, I was emotionally drained, but I found myself full of life and love for the world around me, and a much deeper appreciation for truth, even if the truth means living through some pain. While I’m sure I wont be able to convey the purifying feeling that this film emotes, I will do my best to ensure that you, the reader, go out of your way to see it. It’s rare that I so highly recommend an epic familial drama, but this is one that I’m sure will stick with me for quite some time.
“We’re all in pain! Why can’t we share our pain?”
After the death of her adopted mother Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste, “Spy Game”) decides to go looking for her birth mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn, “Pride & Prejudice”). Meanwhile, Cynthia deals with feelings of solitude and loneliness as her second daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook, “Spice World”) refuses to tell her anything about her new boyfriend, Paul (Lee Ross, “Centurion”). Cynthia’s brother Maurice (Timothy Spall, “Mr. Turner”), a successful photographer, is somewhat estranged, but attempts to reconnect with her by inviting Cynthia and Roxanne to a barbeque on Roxanne’s twenty-first birthday. Maurice is married to Monica (Phyllis Logan, “1984”), and despite the outwardly perfect appearance of their marriage, they have trouble talking about their marital issues. As Hortense approaches Cynthia, the emotions run high, and her appearance will shake up the family as a whole.
I think the thing that I like most about Mike Leigh’s films (at least, the ones I’ve seen) is that he takes his time developing characters until each of them feels real. It should be noted that many of Leigh’s films are primarily improvised, but the scenes are heavily outlined before shooting begins; the most important lines are written down and kept, but Leigh really looks for realism in his writing, and that really comes out through improvisation. Nothing is ever rushed in his movies; there are scenes that, in other films, would feel lengthy and out of place, but in his movies, scenes of lengthy dialogue are some of the most intriguing bits. Our characters in this film are all wonderfully complex in that they are all good people, but they are all broken and searching for something more. They all hide and harbor secrets that impact the others in small ways; the familial drama that happens here isn’t overblown or overdramatic- it’s grounded and realistic. While the overarching storyline of daughter seeking birth mother would undoubtedly be the most life-altering thing that happened to a person (or group of people), the story never goes so far that the situations feel unlikely. As a result, I found myself caring for every single character in this film, and I was completely invested emotionally with this story. I was as nervous as Hortense was when she first meets Cynthia, and I found myself laughing and crying along with them as they started to get on. The realism of the characters in this film are furthered by Mike Leigh deliberately paced direction. In some of the most emotional or tense scenes, Leigh sets his camera down in one place and lets the actors do the work. There are a few scenes that really come to mind when referencing that particular directorial choice, but the first time I really noticed it in this film was when Maurice first stopped by Cynthia’s home and the two of them talk about old times. When Maurice walks up into their father’s old room and starts looking around through the cluttered memories that have been stuffed there, Cynthia starts to cry and the whole interaction, which lasts several minutes, is done entirely in one long take that slowly pushes in on Maurice holding Cynthia while she sobs. The scene is so raw, but it also does a couple of great things subtextually; the first is that the location says something about Cynthia’s current state of mind by setting the conversation about old times in a room cluttered with things that hold mean- she’s a bit of a wreck because of all the things that have happened in her past. But by choosing to focus on Maurice’s reaction to Cythia crying instead of Cynthia’s meltdown, we see that Maurice feels as if he has failed as a brother, that he didn’t really support her enough. This scene is brilliantly acted by both of them, but the direction is what really blew me away. Another instance of this happening is when Cynthia and Hortense sit down to have a cup of tea at the café after first meeting each other; the two sit side by side and discuss the possibility of Hortense being Cynthia’s daughter, the whole time the camera is locked down and just watches the two interact. I’d venture to guess that the scene is over seven minutes long, but the performances from each of them never waver, and the subtext that runs beneath their conversation is dripping with irony, as Cynthia talks about how she loves babies, or references her other daughter without a care to Hortense’s feelings. One other amazing long take is at Roxanne’s birthday party when the barbeque is happening; the shot is of the family eating, while Maurice grills in the background. People walk in and out of the frame, carrying food, bringing drinks to the table, and talking over each other like a normal family dinner; this is cinema verite at its finest.
Beyond Mike Leigh, the talent in front of the camera is absolutely astonishing. Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste both earned nominations for their roles in this movie, and both of them absolutely deserved them. I thought Blethyn was the standout as the slightly neurotic and always nervous Cynthia; she had the most emotional moments as well as some of the most heartbreaking revelations. She was a character that, from the moment she came on screen, I just wanted to hug her and tell her everything was going to be all right. Marianne was absolutely spellbinding as Hortense; you really believe that she’s searching for her long lost mother, and its easy to see she has inner turmoil about why her mother left her, but also wanting to reconnect and all of the implications that could have. Timothy Spall was fantastic as Maurice. He was a character that I really appreciated because he was truly a good man; he’d worked for what he’d earned, he always tries to do the right thing, even when it might get him into situations he wouldn’t have normally been in.
Finally, the last thing I wanted to touch on was the message and morals of this story. (SOME SPOILERS IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH) This movie screams for the truth to come out, but not only that, it shows the redemptive power of truth, and the weight that can be relieved by coming clean. Many of these characters, at the beginning of the film, are harboring secrets that eat away at them inside, but the end of this movie lays everything out in the open for everyone to see, and as a result everyone is happier. This is a rough film to get through, but that’s what makes it so amazing. It’s a harrowing journey of recovery and reunion that feels incredibly real and is undeniably impactful.
Verdict:
The characters in this film are ones that I wont forget anytime soon. They are more real than 90% of the characters I see in other dramatic films today. They’re more emotionally vulnerable and far more honest. This movie was nominated for a total of five Oscars including Best Actress (Blethyn- she lost the Oscar but won a Golden Globe for her role), Best Supporting Actress (Jean-Baptiste), Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. This wont be the last Mike Leigh movie I review for this site; not by a long shot.
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