Secrets & Lies

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Dani G Family drama that explains nothing at first, but you start putting the pieces together very easily later Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/19/24 Full Review Julie S I really enjoy watching the 2015 “Secrets & Lies.” All the actors did an excellent job as well as the writers and director. I’m excited to see Season 2. I was greatly disappointed that they didn’t continue with season 3. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/26/24 Full Review Tonatiuh C Muy divertida con excelentes actuaciones, me recordó el estilo de ken loach Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/14/23 Full Review Sara A This film is brilliant in the way it jumps from scenes with different characters with no apparent connection never losing my interest and building my fascination. Ordinary people doing ordinary things is new. It seems unscripted. Each character is strong in his unique ordinariness. Timothy Spall is my favorite in his ability to deliver a man with feelings and humor.Brenda Blethyn walks a very thin line of emotional outburst that could have failed but didn't. She delivers the most dramatic tour de force that brought a burst of tears. Everyone should see this film for many reasons. I think it can change lives. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/15/23 Full Review Kevin L I don't think there's a director alive (maybe past, even) who could get better performances out of his actors. He may have his equal(s), but I can't think of one better. All the major players are terrific, but it's Brenda Blethyn's Cynthia that is the singular performance here. She may be a bit too weepy at times, but she owns it. All she wants is the best for everyone, even if she gets so little back for it. In Blethyn's skilled work we also see the sweetness, the decent person with all the regrets, and we hope that she can eventually find joy in the shocking news she gets that drives most of the film. I can think of other stand out performances from his films- David Thewlis in Naked; Lesley Manville in "Another Year", so much like Cynthia; Sally Hawkins in "Happy-Go-Lucky". It's such a testament to his approach to filmmaking where he works separately with each cast member, improvising and honing in on each character before a script is finished and shooting begins. As the other cast members separately meet to set their relationships in the movie context, they are all comfortable and confident in who they are in the movie and how it will all tick. Indeed, secrets & lies are issues that can turn a few sparks into emotional ragers; along with fears, insecurities, and the unknown suddenly revealed. As it's a Mike Leigh film, we get all this from a tightly focused collection of actors portraying the most regular, frumpy and dumpy, bright n' cheery lot you can imagine. And it's magic...again. Though I'm not sure it needed the Stuart bit. Cheers to the fantastic Timoth Spall- always effortlessly locked in; Marianne Jean-Baptiste; Phyllis Logan, and Claire Rushbrook. Berrington's a pleasure as Jane as well. So grand how she tells Spall's Maurice she wishes she'd had a father like him, cuz he's 'lovely'. He is. I love the shot among the tenement buildings as Hortense first drops off Cynthia. Great stuff, that. And great stuff "Secrets & Lies" is. Took a bit for me to settle into it, and as I said, it's a weeper. But it's also pure Leigh, with another slice of the meat n' potatoes of humanity; of British citizenry just trying to make it to another day, another year. 4 stars Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/15/23 Full Review Chris K Refreshingly shattering. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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