Secrets & Lies
First screened in January 1997 / Most recently screened in March 2016
Director: Mike Leigh. Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Claire Rushbrook, Phyllis Logan, Lee Ross, Elizabeth Berridge, Ron Cook, Lesley Manville, Clare Perkins, Emma Amos, Philip Davis, Ruth Sheen, Alison Steadman, Peter Wight. Screenplay: Mike Leigh.

 Twitter Capsule: Performances and personalities so involving I don't mind the over-egged story. Jean-Baptiste, Spall the standouts.

VOR: ⑤  Leigh's highest grosser and biggest prize winner is among his more optimistic works. A key work in a crucial artist's canon. If anything, though, less deep or risky than some of his others.


Photo © 1996 Channel Four Films/CiBy 2000/Thin Man Films/October Films

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B+

(in January 1997: A–)
Academy Award Nominations:
Best Picture
Best Director: Mike Leigh
Best Actress: Brenda Blethyn
Best Supporting Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Best Original Screenplay: Mike Leigh

Golden Globe Nominations and Winners:
Best Picture (Drama)
★Best Actress (Drama): Brenda Blethyn
Best Supporting Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Other Awards:
Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'or (Best Picture); Best Actress (Blethyn); Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Foreign Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Association: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actress (Blethyn)
Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Director; Best Actress (Blethyn)
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs): Best British Film; Best Actress (Blethyn); Best Original Screenplay
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