Thankfully Leigh was the writer/director as this same set-up could be maudlin in less capable hands. Blethyn does give one of my absolute favorite performances here. So real that you could be mistaken for thinking it was a documentary.

This is a fantastic film about an adopted woman who seeks out her birth mother and the troubled family of her birth mother. It is tender, heartbreaking, entertaining, funny, touching, and so much more. This, truly, is cinema.

Never ever watch this film, brenda blethyn spoils it with her constant booing and stupid voice!

This is a great, little known gem. The acting is great, the screenplay is well written and tight. Highly recommend.

Made me cry. In a good way

Family drama that explains nothing at first, but you start putting the pieces together very easily later

I really enjoy watching the 2015 “Secrets & Lies.” All the actors did an excellent job as well as the writers and director. I’m excited to see Season 2. I was greatly disappointed that they didn’t continue with season 3.

Muy divertida con excelentes actuaciones, me recordó el estilo de ken loach

This film is brilliant in the way it jumps from scenes with different characters with no apparent connection never losing my interest and building my fascination. Ordinary people doing ordinary things is new. It seems unscripted. Each character is strong in his unique ordinariness. Timothy Spall is my favorite in his ability to deliver a man with feelings and humor.Brenda Blethyn walks a very thin line of emotional outburst that could have failed but didn't. She delivers the most dramatic tour de force that brought a burst of tears. Everyone should see this film for many reasons. I think it can change lives.

I don't think there's a director alive (maybe past, even) who could get better performances out of his actors. He may have his equal(s), but I can't think of one better. All the major players are terrific, but it's Brenda Blethyn's Cynthia that is the singular performance here. She may be a bit too weepy at times, but she owns it. All she wants is the best for everyone, even if she gets so little back for it. In Blethyn's skilled work we also see the sweetness, the decent person with all the regrets, and we hope that she can eventually find joy in the shocking news she gets that drives most of the film. I can think of other stand out performances from his films- David Thewlis in Naked; Lesley Manville in "Another Year", so much like Cynthia; Sally Hawkins in "Happy-Go-Lucky". It's such a testament to his approach to filmmaking where he works separately with each cast member, improvising and honing in on each character before a script is finished and shooting begins. As the other cast members separately meet to set their relationships in the movie context, they are all comfortable and confident in who they are in the movie and how it will all tick. Indeed, secrets & lies are issues that can turn a few sparks into emotional ragers; along with fears, insecurities, and the unknown suddenly revealed. As it's a Mike Leigh film, we get all this from a tightly focused collection of actors portraying the most regular, frumpy and dumpy, bright n' cheery lot you can imagine. And it's magic...again. Though I'm not sure it needed the Stuart bit. Cheers to the fantastic Timoth Spall- always effortlessly locked in; Marianne Jean-Baptiste; Phyllis Logan, and Claire Rushbrook. Berrington's a pleasure as Jane as well. So grand how she tells Spall's Maurice she wishes she'd had a father like him, cuz he's 'lovely'. He is. I love the shot among the tenement buildings as Hortense first drops off Cynthia. Great stuff, that. And great stuff "Secrets & Lies" is. Took a bit for me to settle into it, and as I said, it's a weeper. But it's also pure Leigh, with another slice of the meat n' potatoes of humanity; of British citizenry just trying to make it to another day, another year. 4 stars

Refreshingly shattering.

Recently watched for the first time since seeing at the cinema maybe 25 years ago and Mike Leigh's movie stands up so well - fantastic performances and direction: at times painful, at others hilarious to watch as the secrets and lies of one family unravel - but always moving. Real human relationships captured on screen.

It was entertaining enough, but I'm not quite sure why it is so highly rated. I found the story a bit slow and plodding. It took way to long to reveal most plot points. As a consequence the film was a lot longer than it need to be. Ultimately, the story was interesting, but somewhat dissatisfying as it left certain story elements undisclosed.

After watching this movie I am now confident to say that when someone will ask me about my favourite drama films I would say Sunset Blvd., Requiem For A Dream, A Streetcar Called Desire and this absolute gem of a film called Secrets and Lies. It had been a while since I last saw a movie that had the ability to touch me emotionally so much, a movie with such a wonderful cast and smart screenplay, a movie that (despite its runtime) does not feel like it drags and never bores you. The plot follows the lives of a most dysfunctional British middle class family. Maurice, a photographer, and his wife Monica, his sister Cynthia and her daughter Roxanne (whose relationship is very tense and problematic) and Hortense, a black optometrist. Hortense has learnt that she was adopted when she was young and attempts to get in touch with her mother, who happens to be Cynthia. The film follows the lives of all the aforementioned characters, the realtionship between Hortense and her biological mother and the secrets and lies that reach the surface and are bound to be revealed. Mike Leigh is, in my opinion, such an underrated director and screenwriter. Though he has a very limited amount of work, Secrets and Lies is undeniably his masterpiece, worthy of the Palme d'Or it won. With such simple, everyday characters and a very poor, run-down environment, he manages to create a heart shattering, emotional, realistic social commentary on 90s Great Britain and that era's middle class. The characters feel real, they feel human. Their actions, normal. Like the barbeque party near the end of the film. Their conversations, their interactions with the environment really create an engrossing and fascinating experience that never has the tendency to drag. Despite the 2 hour runtime, the pacing is wonderful, and each scene can't help but develop the story in an interesting manner that keeps the viewer interested. About the actors themselves, the whole cast does an excellent job without excpetions. Timothy Spall as Maurice is exceptional, Marianne Jean Baptiste as Hortense is restrained and fascinating, and the other actors, like Phyllis Logan and Claire Rushbrook do an equally praiseworthy job. But out of all, Brenda Blethyn is the one actress that touched me the most. I will go as far as to say that she was more worthy of the Academy Award that year than Frances McDormant for Fargo (and so was Mike Leigh for Best Screenplay, again Fargo won). Her incredible ability to portray mentally unstable, depressed and anxious Cynthia with such emotion is something that I cannot praise enough. The way her emotions fluctuate for sadness to happiness, from anger to a mental breakdown, her movements, her thoughts and lifestyle are some of the few things that have made Brenda's performance in thsi movie my favourite performance in a film by an actress ever. Meryl Streep? Meryl who? Forget her, if you want a real tragic and emotional performance go watch this movie. Bravo Brenda, bravo. Significant praise will also go to the composer for creating a haunting and tragic score that perfectly accompanies each scene, editing and cinematography for some scenes like the first interaction of Hortense and Cynthia (that scene is just so sad). Overall, I cannot say much more, but go watch Secrets and Lies, which I firmly believe it is one of the best, if not the best, drama films of all time, a true masterpiece.

Reassistindo por engano, mas fazia mais de uma década, já não me recordava e o drama me consumiu por inteiro, que só reparei o lapso quase ao final, submersa nas dores, frustrações e desamores dos personagens, intenso, lindo, diálogos perfeitos, o estilo de filme que amo, submersão profunda e completa na essência dos personagens, roteiros, locações, diálogos, perfeito, hipnótico, nota subiu de 8,5 para 9,5....

I loved the sequence with all the different cast of people getting their photos taken. You get a good sense of their personalities. A really interesting look at what it might feel like to be an adoptive child and decide to go out looking for your birth parents. Timothy Spall is such a great actor. I loved him in Harry Potter. I can definitely feel for his character in this movie. I also feel for Cynthia as well even though she's pretty pathetic and helpless. The humor is definitely there. It's got quite an offbeat sort of dark humor to it. It's kinda funny seeing the stark contrast between Cynthia and Hortense. Hortense is calm and composed while Cynthia is a nervous wreck of emotions. I liked how the tone of the movie never gets too dark or bleak, it stays quite light and comedic especially for it's quite real themes. The movie is quite cheeky with its humor. Quirky but sentimental at the same time. I really enjoyed watching it!

1001 movies to see before you die. This was a drama that I struggled with initially, then it transitioned to a level of vulnerability. Juxtaposing with irony the different members of a family and their relationships. Truth was spoken about how people don't share their pain with those they love. It was a sad drama, but well acted and it captured the social issues in England well. Saw it on HBO.

One of the alltime best films I know of. Everything-- the script, the superb acting, the locations-- is just perfect. So telling, so heartfelt. A film that's sidesplittingly funny... and two-hankie heartbreaking. Brenda Blethyn's performance is a revelation... the cameos by Lesley Manville and Ron Cook are absolute gems... perfectly observed. A modern masterpiece.

I don't understand the high praise for this film. I found it more than just boring, it was outright painful to watch due to some of the characters being absolutely annoying. The one who sticks out the most is Cynthia. Her whiny, screechy voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard and her overuse of the words "darling" and "sweetheart" are nauseating.

Well constructed, well built up, it's a strong plot and pretty well acted. Bizarre that they couldn't find a mixed race actress to play the mixed race girl. Gut punch ending. I've got to add my plaudits to Brenda Blethyn for her astonishing performance. Acting about as good as it gets. Excellent film.