Simply Perfect

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

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.

It was a really nice film to watch. The story and most characters are very touching. The actors'performances are very good and really natural, they play their parts well. I think that Maurice and Cynthia are the best performances. I was touched by this two characters. There is something I like in Mike Leigh's films, it's his way to work, he doesn't use any script, he works only the actors' performances. Even if it's a drama film, there are some funny moments and I appreciated them. After the film Timothy Spall, the actor who plays Maurice joined us to answer our questions, it was really nice to met him just after the film. I recommend this film if you like emotional films and because it's a beautiful story

Secrets and Lies is about important themes in life: love, family, children, adoption... The movie is about a young woman who wants to know her birth-mother. But her birth-mother ignores she have another daughter until she enters her life. And when they meet, everything changes. But it creates more tensions between the mother and her second daughter but also wit the rest of the family. The thing I liked best in this film is the humorous side which is present all the film long. The actors and actresses are really good, even more when we underline the fact that they didn't even have a script because the film director, Mike Leigh, always works without a script. It is always improvisation. The films got nominated for a lot of awards, actors too, and it was well-deserved, the actors were truly Oscar-worthy. We also had the chance with my class to meet one of the lead actors, Timothy Spall, who plays Maurice, Cynthia's brother in the film and it was a truly incredible experience. He was really kind and nice with us and he answered all our questions clearly, he did his best to answer our questions. But what I dislike about the movie is that, sometimes there are scenes which are too long, slow-moving scenes and it is really boring. But I think is the only weakness point of the movie. Otherwise, it is a good movie, for the characters, the plot and the moral.

First time Iheard of this movie was for the British Screen Festival that took place in Nîmes (France). We also had the chance and even the pleasure to meet Timothy Spall who plays Maurice, Cynthia's brother in "Secrets and Lies". I must say this movie is a bit slow-moving at the beginning but after Cynthia and Hortense meet, the movie speeds up a little bit. The actors performances are great considering the fact that they had no script to rely on but I wouldn't say this movie is Oscar-Worthy. The movie is catchy though, and if you are into secrets and kinda backstabbing movies you'll probably like it but if you're into DC COMICS or MARVEL or any kind of action movie, this is not the movie you'll like. You'll get really bored really quickly. To finish with, the movie is great and Timothy Spall was just adorable, sweet and interacted a lot with us. It was a really cool and interesting experience to do.