ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, December 20, 1996 TAG: 9612200065
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
Here's a reversal: a movie that takes a tabloid-material kind of story and turns it into something quite like real life instead of working the opposite sort of movie magic on reality in the name of "entertainment."
The movie is Mike Leigh's "Secrets & Lies," a winning plea for honesty in people's relationships with one another, even if it causes temporary anguish.
At the center of this story is a painfully pathetic 40ish woman named Cynthia Purley, whose daughter Roxanne cleans the streets of London for a living and picks at her mother for the fun of it.
Cynthia is used to disappointment in life and is nearly dying of loneliness when she receives a call from the daughter she gave away at birth almost 25 years earlier. Hortense, who is black, already has learned that Cynthia is white, but is completely undaunted by that fact and by Cynthia's initial horror at having her secret come back to haunt her.
Interwoven in the story of Cynthia and Hortense is the sad story of Morris Purley, Cynthia's brother. He is a well-to-do studio photographer who would like to take care of his sad sister but is kept busy taking care of his sad wife, Monica. She can't have children, but boy can she decorate. So their home is like a monument to sterility, abundant in flowing white curtains and white stenciling - with practically not a personal memento in sight.
Into this miserable scene strides the amazing Hortense, who has agreed not to shatter what's left of Cynthia's life if only the two can meet somewhere, just to talk.
What happens next should not be as unexpected as it is. It's just that the first hour and a half or so of Leigh's movie is so painful in the most intimate ways that one would hardly expect this kind of ending.
For many people, "Secrets & Lies" might be just too much of one thing and far too little of another. When many directors would spare us that extra second of Cynthia's relentless sobbing, say, or Hortense's third, agonizing attempt to dial her birth mother's phone number, Leigh hones in and lingers. It's not that this isn't a visually beautiful movie: It is. But these hard moments aren't most people's idea of entertainment.
If, however, you appreciate strong characters, a well-told story and flawless acting, "Secrets & Lies" will knock your socks off. Brenda Blethyn's Cynthia is one of the most poignant movie characters in years. Timothy Spall as Morris, Phyllis Logan as Monica, Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Hortense and Claire Rushbrook as Roxanne are all so good that when Leigh gets them into one room, one almost expects the pictures to come flying off the walls. It's that intense.
No, it's not holiday fun for the whole family. But ultimately, it is about family in a way that few movies ever have the guts to be.
Secrets & Lies *** 1/2
Rated R for adult situations and profanity. An October films release showing at the Grandin Theatre, 2 hours and 22 minutes.
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