Secrets & Lies (1997)
94%RT Audience Score: 91%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 5 Oscars
36 wins & 47 nominations total
Secrets & Lies delves into social issues with delicate aplomb and across-the-board incredible acting, and stands as one of writer-director Mike Leigh’s most powerful works.
Secrets & Lies is a film that will make you laugh, cry, and question your own family dynamics. It’s a beautifully crafted story that explores the complexities of relationships and the secrets we keep from those closest to us. The performances are top-notch, and the emotional depth of the characters will leave you feeling like you’ve known them your whole life. Mike Leigh has truly created a masterpiece that will stay with you long after the credits roll. So grab some tissues and get ready for a rollercoaster of emotions!
Production Company(ies)
Channel Four Films, Ci By 2000 Thin Man Films,
Distributor
October Films
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Junction of Whitehouse Way and Hampden Way, Southgate, London, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
1997
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 22m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 15, 2020
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brenda Blethyn, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook, Ron Cook, Timothy Spall, directed by Mike Leigh, written by Mike Leigh, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Adam Mars-Jones, Owen Gleiberman, Eric Henderson, Kenneth Turan, Mike Clark, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Noël Herpe, Tom Cassidy, David Harris, James Kendrick, Nick Levine, Matt Brunson, producer Simon Channing Williams, MPAA rating R, social issues, family, adoption, identity, race, roots, class, emotional, improvised, human drama, character portrayals, nuanced, engaging, surprising, good humor, high quality, storytelling, literary, original, human comedy, masterpiece
Worldwide gross: $13,417,292
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $25,010,917
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,624
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,727,472
US/Canada gross: $13,417,292
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $25,010,917
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,337
US/Canada opening weekend: $60,813
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $113,360
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,889
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $4,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $8,388,364
Production budget ranking: 1,734
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,517,134
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $12,105,419
ROI to date (est.): 94%
ROI ranking: 966
Brenda Blethyn – Cynthia Rose Purley
Phyllis Logan – Monica Purley
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hortense Cumberbatch
Claire Rushbrook – Roxanne Purley
Ron Cook – Stuart
Director(s)
Mike Leigh
Writer(s)
Mike Leigh
Producer(s)
Simon Channing Williams
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 5 Oscars
36 wins & 47 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (44) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (2)
Secrets and Lies is a beautifully constructed sentimental melodrama, with none of the rough edges that Mike Leigh has insisted on in the past.
November 15, 2017
Adam Mars-Jones
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Secrets & Lies is littered with scenes that begin at a fever pitch before descending into a becalmed, meditative state.
February 19, 2005 | Rating: 3/4
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
February 14, 2001 | Rating: 5/5
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Leigh’s best work yet is indisputably screen art, but it’s a flesh-and-blood ‘people’ movie, too.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/4
Mike Clark
USA Today
TOP CRITIC
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
This is exactly the challenge taken up by Leigh: bring film back to its community calling and remember that, beyond the confusion of images and identities, there are… people with pasts, sufferings, things to say, families — and we are all part of it.
May 3, 2022
Noël Herpe
Positif
A benchmark for comedy dramas, this award-winning 1996 film is a bonafide masterpiece.
March 4, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Tom Cassidy
Common Sense Media
Much of Secrets & Lies unfolds as if we’re peeking around corners, watching Mike Leigh’s characters struggle with personal, yet hidden, pain. Everyone in the film is hurting but unwilling to reach out to others in the family.
October 12, 2021
David Harris
Spectrum Culture
a masterful dramedy about that wonderfully, terribly complex thing we call family
June 19, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
It’s a beautifully performed British film which sensitively explores issues surrounding identity, race, roots and class.
May 10, 2021
Nick Levine
NME
Secrets & Lies is a mesmerizing film, with the emotional stakes raised so high that each confrontation or revelation generates as much (or more) genuine suspense as anything found in Hollywood’s latest thriller-of-the-week.
April 3, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
Cynthia lives in London with her sullen street-sweeper daughter. Her brother has been successful with his photographer’s business and now lives nearby in a more upmarket house. But Cynthia hasn’t even been invited round there after a year. So, all round, she feels rather lonely and isolated. Meanwhile, in another part of town, Hortense, adopted at birth but now grown up, starts to try and trace her mother.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste both received Oscar nominations for their performances in Secrets & Lies.
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