173) Secrets And Lies
Secrets and Lies is a film full of exactly what the title suggests as Mike Leigh illustrates the adverse effects that they can have within a family.
Cynthia lives in London with her angst-ridden, street-sweeper daughter Roxanne. Her brother has been successful with his photographer's business and now lives nearby in an upmarket house, but Cynthia hasn't even been invited round there after a year. She feels lonely and isolated. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Hortense, adopted at birth but now grown up, starts to try and trace her mother.
Most characters in Secrets And Lies are in denial of the truth to some degree. Roxanne, for example, is in denial of her unhappiness and the reasons for it while Monica chooses to bury her problems in her house showing the same kind of dedication to it that she would for her own child.
However, this theme is mostly told through the eyes of Cynthia who is performed incredibly by Brenda Blethyn. She is a character that has lost her daughter in so many ways yet refuses to place the blame on anyone but herself. That leaves her unable to heal the relationship with Roxanne. Cynthia also denies the truth about herself and the youth that she has lost - as made obvious in the scene in which she tells her daughter 'Got legs like a teenager I have’ - and this disallows her to accept who and what she actually is.
The more she lies to herself the more deep-seeded her problems become and the most she becomes depressed and unwilling to accept change. The same can be said of Roxanne and her denials and of Monica and her secrets.
However, as characters are forced to confront the truth, they soon become are able to face up to their problems and overcome them. This is emphasized in the final piece of dialogue in which Hortense says 'It’s best to tell the truth, isn’t it? That way, nobody gets hurt.'
This is first demonstrated at the halfway point as Cynthia begins to face the truth about Hortense her first daughter who she gave away immediately after she was born. Initially, Cynthia denies it and lies about the situation, creating uncertainty, uncomfort and leaving Hortense feeling unappreciated. But then they manage to discuss the truth they begin to fix things and a strong bond forms between them.
Mike Leigh also fascinatingly explores the destructive nature of secrets and lies through Maurice’s job in a photo shop. We see families who are unhappy pose with smiles on their faces for the camera seemingly unable to overcome their issues. We see the old manager arrive, in denial over how little influence he’s had on the shop’s success, and therefore drown his sorrows in alcohol. And we even see an upsetting scene with a woman who can’t face the truth that her looks have gone after a car crash, unable to ever recover or move on.
A character-driven drama that is an intelligent study of the effects of secrets and lies, Mike Leigh’s Palme D’or winning movie is among the best of his career and he proves he is a master of screenwriting. Close to perfection.
5/5
2 comments:
One criticism of your review.... *Close to* perfection?! ;)
Mike Leigh season on Film Four = Immense.
My second favourite by him. Just after Happy Go Lucky. :)
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