Secrets & Lies – 1996 | 142 mins | Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Created around Mike Leigh’s rich characterisation and suspense, Secrets & Lies is one of Mike Leigh’s most acclaimed films.Secrets & Lies won the 1996 Palme D’Or at Cannes, and Blethyn picked up the Best Actress award.

This powerful drama film follows London doctor Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), an intelligent middle-class black woman who was adopted and now decides to track down her biological mother. But her daunting discovery is that her natural mother Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is white and working class. Cynthia is doubtful of Hortense’s claim until she presents her birth certificate, then Cynthia’s painful memories begin to reappear. Cynthia meanwhile is determined to keep her antagonistic daughter Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook) from making the same mistakes she did. What will happen when Hortense traces her real mum? What family secret is Cynthia’s brother; wedding photographer Maurice (Timothy Spall) keeping? And the barbecue looms large – as Leigh’s parties always do. Cynthia invites Hortense to her daughter’s birthday barbecue, choosing that occasion to disclose to her family the true identity of this newcomer. The characters are immensely moving: Cynthia asking little brother Maurice for a hug, and his agonised party speech.