
Secrets & Lies
Roxanne drives her mother crazy. Maurice never speaks to his niece. Cynthia has a shock for her family. Monica can't talk to her husband. Hortense has never met her mother.
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
- 7.6
- 1996
- Released
- 2h 22m

Brenda Blethyn
Cynthia Rose Purley
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Hortense Cumberbatch
Timothy Spall
Maurice Purley
Phyllis Logan
Monica Purley
Claire Rushbrook
Roxanne Purley
Lee Ross
Paul
Lesley Manville
The Social Worker
Elizabeth Berrington
Jane
Michele Austin
Dionne
Ron Cook
Stuart
Trevor Laird
Hortense's Brother
Brian Bovell
Hortense's Brother
Emma Amos
Girl with Scar
Clare Perkins
Hortense's Sister in Law
Elias Perkins McCook
Hortense's Nephew
Jane Mitchell
Senior Optician (as June Mitchell)
Janice Acquah
Junior Optician
Keylee Jade Flanders
Girl in Opticians (as Keeley Flanders)
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
Lucy Sheen
Nurse
Frances Ruffelle
Young Mother
Nitin Ganatra
Potential Suitor
Metin Marlow
Conjuror
Su Elliot
Raunchy Woman
Amanda Crossley
Raunchy Woman
Di Sherlock
Raunchy Woman
David Neilson
Man in Suit
Peter Waddington
Man in Suit
Peter Stockbridge
Man in Suit
Rachel Lewis
Graduate
Paul Trussell
Grinning Husband
Jonny Coyne
Fiance
Denise Orita
Uneasy Woman
Margery Withers
Elderly Lady
Gordon Winter
Laughing Man
Theresa Watson
Daughter
Peter Wight
Father in Family Group
Gary McDonald
Boxer
Alison Steadman
Woman with Dog
Liz Smith
Woman with Cat
Sheila Kelley
Fertile Mother
Angela Curran
Little Boy's Mother
Linda Beckett
Pin Up Housewife
Phil Davis
Man in Suit
Wendy Nottingham
Glum Woman
Anthony O'Donnell
Uneasy Man
Ruth Sheen
Laughing Woman
Mia Soteriou
Fiancee
Stephen Churchett
Man in Suit








Released
en
$4,500,000.00
$13,417,292.00
- #london, england
- #parent child relationship
- #adoption
- #socially deprived family
- #reunion
- #candid
- #loving
Reviews

_Secrets & Lies_ is a compelling film that delves into the themes of family, identity, and the profound impact of shame on relationships. It skillfully intertwines raw emotion with a sense of honesty that reverberates throughout the narrative. The performances are remarkably authentic, fostering a strong connection with the characters and their struggles with their own secrets. The dialogue fee

**A good work, currently forgotten.** Just when I think I've seen all sorts of movies about racism, issues of race or prejudice, there's something new that comes out of nowhere, or some meritorious, well-made effort that's worth seeing. This film, initially, seemed to me just a sweet and average drama in which a black woman, very successful, decides to discover the identity of her biological mo

If I ever get around to drawing up a list of my top 25 favorite non-blockbuster movies, Secrets and Lies would roll in very near the top. I have watched it a few times and expect I will continue to do so periodically. The acting is phenomenal. It is an ensemble cast, for sure, no superstars, but three of the main actors: Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn and Claire Rushbrook, are among the best tha
SECRETS AND LIES is a 1996 film by Mike Leigh that, appropriately enough, is concerned with the things that members of a family conceal from each other. Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), a black woman in London who has made a successful career as an optician, knew from a young age that she was adopted, but only after her adopted mother's death does she decide to look up her birth mother. Horte











