- Secrets & Lies
Infobox Film
name = Secrets & Lies
caption = film poster
director =Mike Leigh
producer = Simon Channing-Williams
writer = Mike Leigh
starring =Brenda Blethyn Marianne Jean-Baptiste Timothy Spall Phyllis Logan
music = Andrew Dickson
cinematography = Dick Pope
editing = Jon Gregory
distributor = October
released = flagicon|France May, 1996 (premiere at Cannes)
flagicon|UK24 May ,1996
flagicon|Australia5 September ,1996
flagicon|Canada27 September 1996
flagicon|USA27 September 1996 (limited)
runtime = 142 min
language = English
budget = $4.5 million
imdb_id = 0117589"Secrets & Lies" is a 1996
British film directed byMike Leigh and starringBrenda Blethyn andMarianne Jean-Baptiste .toryline
The film tells the story of Hortense Cumberbatch, a successful black
optometrist who traces her family history and discovers that her mother, Cynthia Purley, is a working class white woman. Cynthia's brother, Maurice Purley, is a photographer who is married to a petty suburban housewife.Production
Although Leigh is credited with writing the
screenplay , most of the performances were actuallyimprovised : Leigh told each of the actors about their roles, and let them create their own lines."Secrets and Lies" was partly filmed in Whitehouse Way,
Southgate, London .The emotional scene in the bar, in which Cynthia realises that she is indeed Hortense's mother, was filmed in a single uninterrupted take of almost 8 minutes.
Awards
The film was a critical success. It has a 93% approval rating on "
Rotten Tomatoes ", a website that collects film reviews, with an average rating of 8.7, significantly higher than the average rating for most other films.The film was nominated for
Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Brenda Blethyn ), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Marianne Jean-Baptiste ), Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.The film also won the 1996 "
Palme d'Or " and Best Actress (Brenda Blethyn ) awards at theCannes Film Festival , and Golden Globe and BAFTA Best Actress awards.Cast
*
Timothy Spall - Maurice Purley
*Phyllis Logan - Monica Purley
*Brenda Blethyn - Cynthia Rose Purley
*Claire Rushbrook - Roxanne Purley
*Marianne Jean-Baptiste - Hortense Cumberbatch
*Elizabeth Berrington - Jane
*Michele Austin - Dionne
*Lee Ross - Paul
*Lesley Manville - Social Worker
*Ron Cook - Stuart
*Emma Amos - Girl with Scar
*Brian Bovell - Hortense's Brother
*Trevor Laird - Hortense's Brother
*Claire Perkins - Hortense's Sister-in-Law (as Clare Perkins)
*Elias Perkins McCook - Hortense's NephewTrivia
* A few days before their mass suicide, the Heaven's Gate religious cult watched "Secrets & Lies" at a cinema on
March 19 ,1997 . [http://www.pentaradial.com/hgexcerpt.htm] .External links
*imdb title|id=0117589|title=Secrets & Lies
###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Palme d'Or
years=1996
before="Underground"
after="Taste of Cherry "
tied with "The Eel"succession box
before = "The Madness of King George "
after = "Nil by Mouth"
title = Alexanda Korda Award for Best British Film
years = 1996
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
