One of the most difficult tasks for any reviewer is giving highest possible marks to certain films. Proper review shouldn't only reflect reviewer's enthusiasm about the film; it should also at least try to explain why that enthusiasm occurred in the first place. That explanation might be hard in cases of films featuring unattractive subjects and having not particularly attractive plots or characters; it takes special kind of film makers to make such viewing experience memorable. British director Mike Leigh belongs to that category, and his 1996 drama Secrets & Lies (winner of Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival) is displaying that particular talent.
Just like many of Mike Leigh's films, Secrets & Lies deals with seemingly trivial problems that bother people belonging to lower rungs of British society. The protagonist of the film is Hortense Cumberbatch (played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste), relatively successful black optometrist whose adoptive parents have passed away. She wants to find her biological mother and, to her utmost surprise, biological mother turns out to be white. On the other hand, reuniting with black daughter she never met is just one of many problems in life is Cynthia Rose Purley (played by Brenda Blethyn). She barely makes a living working in factory, and her 21-year old daughter Roxanne (played by Claire Ashbrook) can't stand her. Cynthia's brother Maurice (played by Timothy Spall) is relatively well-off photographer who is more sympathetic to her financial and emotional plight, but his wife Monica (played by Phyllis Logan) can't stand her sister-in law. All these problems are going to erupt when Cynthia decides to introduce Hortense to her family at Roxanne's birthday party.
Mike Leigh's success owes much to rather simple formula of film making. His favourite method of creating films is to have only the broadest possible outline of plot and then invite actors to months of intense work during which they develop characters, subplots and finally improvise their own dialogue. The result of that work is later covered by Leigh in long static shots that allow actors not only to act in most natural way possible, but also to display their talent in all of its glory, uninterrupted and untainted by director's interventions. However, for that formula to work, film needs some special kind of acting talent. Leigh was fortunate to gather very good cast, some of which later became more recognisable faces of British and world cinema. Among them most recognisable is Timothy Spall, who excelled in touching but realistic portrayal of Maurice (and who is one of Mike Leigh's regulars). The most impressive performance was, however, delivered by Brenda Blethyn in equally moving role of Cynthia. Blethyn portrayed her character with incredible intensity and managed to make Cynthia both funny, pathetic and tragic. Probably the best example for that is the scene in which Cynthia suddenly realises that the strange black woman is indeed her daughter. Her Cannes Film Festival Award for that role is more than deserved.
Another thing that sets this film from many other social dramas is in the naturalist way it depicts social reality. Mike Leigh is able to evade or easily handle issues that would become "Issues" in the hands of less experienced or more insecure film makers. The most obvious example in Secrets & Lies is the race. Many other film makers, British and otherwise, would make at least a tiny subplot or try to comment about racial relations in modern Britain. Leigh uses race simply as convenient plot device; his black protagonist, being a successful middle-class professional, is inoculated of stereotypes. Furthermore, people who inhabit Mike Leigh's world are so engulfed in their petty yet earth-shattering tragedies to care about those unimportant details. Because of that, Secrets & Lies succeeds in being a real piece of life being snatched and brought to screen rather than artificial construct. Unfortunately, this effect is compromised by irritating and unnecessary use of Andrew Dickson's music. That, however, isn't the reason for Secrets & Lies to be denied of its well-deserved praise.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on October 27th 2003)
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