Secrets & Lies · LeviOsa

Loading movie…

Secrets & Lies · LeviOsa

Secrets & Lies key art

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.

Drama2h 22m

🍅95%

🍅

95%

Tomatometer

🍿

91%

Popcornmeter

7.6

TMDB

Storyline

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.

Trailers

11 videos

Secrets & Lies trailer thumbnail

Trailer

Secrets & Lies Q&A | Mike Leigh in Conversation

Secrets & Lies Q&A | Mike Leigh in Conversation

Channel 4 Promo

Channel 4 Promo

Mike Leigh on the Making of Secrets & Lies

Mike Leigh on the Making of Secrets & Lies

TV Promo - The Show Case Review

TV Promo - The Show Case Review

US TV Spot

US TV Spot

Details

DirectorMike Leigh

ReleasedMay 24, 1996

StatusReleased

Original languageEnglish

Budget

$4.5M

Revenue

$13.4M

Parental guideRUS

Studios

CiBy 2000

Thin Man Films

Channel Four Films

Cast

Brenda Blethyn

Brenda Blethyn

Cynthia Rose Purley

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Hortense Cumberbatch

Timothy Spall

Timothy Spall

Maurice Purley

Phyllis Logan

Phyllis Logan

Monica Purley

Claire Rushbrook

Claire Rushbrook

Roxanne Purley

Lee Ross

Lee Ross

Paul

Lesley Manville

Lesley Manville

The Social Worker

Elizabeth Berrington

Elizabeth Berrington

Jane

Michele Austin

Michele Austin

Dionne

Ron Cook

Ron Cook

Stuart

Trevor Laird

Trevor Laird

Hortense's Brother

Brian Bovell

Brian Bovell

Hortense's Brother

Where to watch(NG)

Rent / Buy

Pijama Films

Reviews

13 reviews · 7 critics · 5 fans

12 fresh · 0 rotten

Critics consensus

“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.”

95% TomatometerRotten Tomatoes

A

Adam Mars-Jones

RTIndependent (UK)Nov 15, 2017

Secrets and Lies is a beautifully constructed sentimental melodrama, with none of the rough edges that Mike Leigh has insisted on in the past.

E

Eric Henderson

RTSlant MagazineFeb 19, 2005

Secrets & Lies is littered with scenes that begin at a fever pitch before descending into a becalmed, meditative state.

M

Mike Clark

RTUSA TodayJan 1, 2000

Leigh's best work yet is indisputably screen art, but it's a flesh-and-blood 'people' movie, too.

D

Dan DiNicola

RTThe Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)Apr 10, 2026

A masterpiece brought to us by Mike Leigh who has no peer when it comes to depicting working-class families.

You Might Also Like

Ronia: The Robber's Daughter

The Silence of the Lambs

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Beauty and the Beast

On the Waterfront

Paris, Texas

The Marriage of Maria Braun

La Jetée

All About Eve

Dead Man Walking

The Rules of the Game

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Recommended for you

A Home of Our Own

Losing Isaiah

Philomena

Rocks

Ladybird Ladybird

Mommie Dearest

The Deep End of the Ocean

Oliver Twist

Evelyn

Finding Neverland

Second Best

More trailers on YouTube

Information

Title

Secrets & Lies

Released

May 24, 1996

Rated

R

Region of Origin

United Kingdom, France

Original Audio

English

Runtime

2h 22m

Status

Released

Studios

CiBy 2000, Thin Man Films

Lion