Whether it be a contemporary or a period piece, Leigh once again provides a provocative portrait on a subject that can (dis)connect the family dynamics in any area.

| Mar 6, 2023

This is exactly the challenge taken up by Leigh: bring film back to its community calling and remember that, beyond the confusion of images and identities, there are... people with pasts, sufferings, things to say, families -- and we are all part of it.

| May 3, 2022

A benchmark for comedy dramas, this award-winning 1996 film is a bonafide masterpiece.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 4, 2022

Much of Secrets & Lies unfolds as if we're peeking around corners, watching Mike Leigh's characters struggle with personal, yet hidden, pain. Everyone in the film is hurting but unwilling to reach out to others in the family.

| Oct 12, 2021

a masterful dramedy about that wonderfully, terribly complex thing we call family

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jun 19, 2021

It's a beautifully performed British film which sensitively explores issues surrounding identity, race, roots and class.

| May 10, 2021

Secrets & Lies is a mesmerizing film, with the emotional stakes raised so high that each confrontation or revelation generates as much (or more) genuine suspense as anything found in Hollywood's latest thriller-of-the-week.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 3, 2021

There may not be a whole lot of plot to it, but what's there is emotionally engaging, and performed by a remarkable ensemble.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Mar 29, 2021

Secrets and Lies is a beautifully constructed sentimental melodrama, with none of the rough edges that Mike Leigh has insisted on in the past.

| Nov 15, 2017

| Original Score: B | Sep 7, 2011

In the hands of another director, it would have been a sentimental melodrama, a soap opera, but with nuanced writing and sharp helming, Mike Leigh mixes humor and pathos in equal measure.

| Original Score: A- | Mar 18, 2011

Much more than just a touching story of the ties that bind humanity and the way we reveal ourselves, "Secrets and Lies" (1996) is a staggering work of cinematic genius. It is truly a perfect film.

| Original Score: A+ | Sep 2, 2009

It's hard to argue against it being a sharply observant and deeply felt melodrama, one that is accessible, contemporary and frightingly realistic.

| Original Score: A | May 7, 2006

Leigh's script and direction pushes all the right emotional buttons without getting overly melodramatic.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 14, 2005

Leigh's film stops short of catharsis, providing the potential for the characters' rebuilding of their relationships without suggesting that such projects are simple or immediate.

| Mar 1, 2005

Secrets & Lies is littered with scenes that begin at a fever pitch before descending into a becalmed, meditative state.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 19, 2005

The characters are so painfully real it's more like watching a documentary than a made-up story.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 1, 2004

An English mother-daughter racial melodrama that resonates with simplicity and insight. Leigh is considerate of his movie's identity and spirit just as much as demonstrates this with his wounded protagonists

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 26, 2004

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 12, 2004

His characters look normal, act normal, chatter, and scream. And even when they choose not to speak, not to give away secrets, they're still heard.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 13, 2003