Secrets & Lies

Year:

1996

Duration:

142 min | USA:136 min

Genres:

Drama

IMDB rate:

8

Director:

Mike Leigh

Awards:

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 38 wins & 24 nominations

Details

Country: France

Release Date: 1996-10-25

Filming Locations: Holborn Underground Station, Holborn, London, England, UK

Earnings

Budget: $4,500,000

Opening Weekend: $60,813 (USA) (29 September 1996)

Gross: $13,417,292 (USA) (18 May 1997)

Cast

Actor

Character

Theresa Watson

Timothy Spall

Maurice Purley

Phyllis Logan

Monica Purley

Brenda Blethyn

Cynthia Rose Purley

Claire Rushbrook

Roxanne Purley

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Hortense Cumberbatch

Elizabeth Berrington

Jane

Michele Austin

Dionne

Lee Ross

Paul

Lesley Manville

Social Worker

Ron Cook

Stuart

Emma Amos

Girl with Scar

Brian Bovell

Hortense's Brother

Trevor Laird

Hortense's Brother

Clare Perkins

Hortense's Sister-in-Law

Elias Perkins McCook

Hortense's Nephew

Jane Mitchell

Senior Optometrist (as June Mitchell)

Janice Acquah

Junior Optician

Keylee Jade Flanders

Girl in Optician's (as Keeley Flanders)

Hannah Davis

First Bride

Terence Harvey

First Bride's Father

Kate O'Malley

Second Bride

Joe Tucker

Groom

Richard Syms

Vicar

Grant Masters

Best Man

Annie Hayes

Mother in Family Group

Jean Ainslie

Grandmother

Daniel Smith

Teenage Son

Lucy Sheen

Nurse

Frances Ruffelle

Young Mother

Felix Manley

Baby

Nitin Ganatra

Potential Husband (as Nitin Chandra Ganatra)

Metin Marlow

Conjuror

Amanda Crossley

Raunchy Woman

Su Elliot

Raunchy Woman (as Su Elliott)

Di Sherlock

Raunchy Woman

Alex Squires

Triplet #1

Lauren Squires

Triplet #2

Sade Squires

Triplet #3

Dominic Curran

Little Boy

Stephen Churchett

Man in Suit

David Neilson

Man in Suit

Peter Stockbridge

Man in Suit

Peter Waddington

Man in Suit

Rachel Lewis

Graduate

Paul Trussell

Grinning Husband

Denise Orita

Uneasy Woman

Margery Withers

Elderly Lady

Gordon Winter

Laughing Man

Jonny Coyne

Fiancé (as Jonathan Coyne)

Bonzo

Dog

Texas

Cat

Peter Wight

Father in Family Group

Gary McDonald

Boxer

Alison Steadman

Dog Owner

Liz Smith

Cat Owner

Sheila Kelley

Fertile Mother

Angela Curran

Little Boy's Mother

Linda Beckett

Pin-Up Housewife

Philip Davis

Man in Suit

Wendy Nottingham

Glum Wife

Anthony O'Donnell

Uneasy Man

Ruth Sheen

Laughing Woman

Mia Soteriou

Fiancée

Anna Pernicci

Waitress (uncredited)

Did you know?

Trivia

To add a spontaneous effect to the performances, Mike Leigh met with each actor individually and only told them what their character would know at the beginning of the film. As filming progressed the actors were hearing the secrets for the very first time. Brenda Blethyn, for instance, didn't know that Marianne Jean-Baptiste was black.

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The restaurant where Cynthia and Hortense meet for lunch is "Pasta Plus Restaurant", a family-run Italian restaurant on 62 Eversholt Street, Camden, London. The restaurant is still open to the public (Monday to Saturday) and is very close to Euston station.

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Mike Leigh and Brenda Blethyn were both born on February 20th. Mike is exactly 3 years older than her.

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Goofs

When Roxanne pushes Cynthia onto the bed, the shadow of a crew member's head is seen moving on the bed.

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Cynthia's address on Hortense's birth certificate is shown as Quilter St, London SE17. The first time Hortense drives there, the street sign shows Quilter St, E2.

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A statement of Hortense's suggests that her family comes from Barbados, and a stamp on a letter among her adoptive mother's papers is almost identifiable as Barbadian on my DVD, but when she puts on a West Indian accent in one scene, apparently imitating her mother, it sounds like broad Jamaican or generic "West Indian", certainly not Bajan, which is a very distinctive accent.

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Quotes

Maurice: Secrets and lies! We're all in pain! Why can't we share our pain? I've spent my entire life trying to make people happy, and the three people I love the most in the world hate each other's guts, and I'm in the middle! I can't take it anymore!

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Monica Purley: Can't miss what you never had!

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Cynthia Purley: This is the life, innit sweethearts?

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Faq

Q

Did Paul cause the accident that scarred the woman Maurice photographs?

A

Paul mentions at the party that he once drank too much and caused a car accident. This fits the story the woman is telling Maurice. Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the movie, it is quite possible that they were in the same car. Since the films overall theme is about Secrets & Lies, it only makes sense that also Paul has his own little secret, which would be being responsible for taking away that womans beauty.

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