Secrets & Lies

 ((French-British))

By DEREK ELLEY

A Film Four Distributors release (in U.K.) of a Ciby 2000 presentation, in association with Channel Four Films, of a Ciby 2000/Thin Man production. (International sales: Ciby Sales, London.) Produced by Simon Channing-Williams. Directed, written by Mike Leigh.
 
Maurice ... Timothy Spall Cynthia ... Brenda Blethyn Monica ... Phyllis Logan Hortense ... Marianne Jean-Baptiste Roxanne ... Claire Rushbrook Stuart ... Ron Cook Social Worker ... Lesley Manville Jane ... Elizabeth Berrington Dionne ... Michele Austin Paul ... Lee Ross Girl With Scar ... Emma Amos First Bride ... Hannah Davis
 

Though the film is entirely free of the mordant black comedy of "Naked," auds expecting simply a megadose of the wacky humor of "Life Is Sweet" or "High Hopes" will be shifting in their seats after the first few reels. Much like Woody Allen's "Crimes and Misdeameanors," pic yo-yos between sequences of interior drama and classic observational humor, with the emphasis on the former. And as in the Woodman's serious pics, there's a strong whiff of Bergman in the serious moments: In its more intense sequences, often shot in long, tightly framed takes, "Secrets & Lies" is almost Leigh's version of "Scenes From a Marriage."

The upside is that Leigh's direction and the main performances are well up to the movie's ambitions; the downside is that pic simply doesn't need to run 142 minutes.

Film opens gradually, with the funeral of the adoptive parents of a young black woman, Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), an optometrist with a yuppie-ish London lifestyle. One by one, we meet the other characters, either at work or at home: middle-aged factory worker Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), who lives with her unsmiling, argumentative daughter, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook), a road sweeper, in a terraced house in a working-class area; and Cynthia's younger bro, Maurice (Timothy Spall), a portrait photographer who's moved to an upscale, leafy suburb with his snooty wife, Monica (Phyllis Logan).

Plot driver is Hortense's decision, now that she's sans family, to discover her birth parents, a process set in motion with a beautifully played scene between her and a social worker (Lesley Manville) who warns of the angst such a move can provoke -- not least when it emerges that her biological mother may have been white.

Meanwhile, Maurice has invited Roxanne over to celebrate her 21st birthday. Roxanne's home life is going from bad to worse; she's constantly bickering with Cynthia and having to sneak out to spend time with her homely b.f., Paul (Lee Ross).

As signaled, Cynthia turns out to be Hortense's mother, and, after a getting-to-know period, Cynthia invites her to the birthday gathering, where the truth -- known all along by Maurice but not by the unloved Roxanne -- finally comes out.

Leigh's desire to develop his familiar brand of comedy is clear from the early going. Though there's the classic gallery of nerdy figures, there are also two characters who are played absolutely straight: Hortense as the voice of modern reason, totally unencumbered by social or class constraints, and Maurice as the standard-bearer of common sense and caring, a born optimist who's proud of the life he's made for himself.

The two dramatic sides come together in what soon emerges as the central character, Cynthia, half Leigh-nerd with a funny voice, half genuinely tragic figure. Primarily a stage actress, like many in the cast, Blethyn (Brad Pitt's mom in "A River Runs Through It") juggles the twin facets of the role with consummate skill. It's a complex performance -- funny, pitiable and stereotypical, but very real.

Spall's turn as Maurice will come as a surprise to those who know him best as the loony restaurateur in "Life Is Sweet." Sketched in an early montage as a smooth-talking photographer -- a bouncy sequence that cameos a host of Leigh regulars -- Maurice emerges as the strongest and wisest of the pic's gallery of dysfunctionals, a role bolstered by Spall's careful underplaying.

Despite its accomplishments, however, the pic doesn't sustain its length. Not enough new is brought to the table after the first few reels to justify some of the more extended heart-to-hearts, and the long-awaited birthday set piece is too swift in its resolution and too long coming (some 100 minutes in). At one point where it makes dramatic sense to push on to the party, the pic almost grinds to a halt with the introduction of a completely extraneous character, the previous owner of Maurice's business.

Dramatically, too, one major doubt remains. Amid such a collection of complex characters, that of Hortense is unsettlingly vanilla and goody-two-shoes. Though she undergoes a change late in the proceedings, the role as written is curiously bland, considering its pivotal place in the drama.

Much of the humor is specifically British and often stems from details in Alison Chitty's production design, plus the use of local speech idioms that will pass by non-natives.

Tech contributions are first-class all the way. Dick Pope's lensing is markedly different from his earlier work on both the dark "Naked" and more naturalistic "Life Is Sweet," with a pristine, crystalline quality that lays bare the drama. Leigh regular John Gregory's editing is clean, and Andrew Dickson's emotive, solo-colored chamber score is a major assist in moving things along.

Camera (Fujicolor; Metrocolor prints), Dick Pope; editor, Jon Gregory; music, Andrew Dickson; production design, Alison Chitty; art direction, Eve Stewart; sound (Dolby SR Digital), George Richards, Peter Maxwell, Mick Boggis; assistant directors, Jennie Osborn, Chris Rose. Reviewed at Century preview theater, London, April 23 , 1996. (In Cannes Film Festival -- competing.) Running time: 142 min.
 

With: Peter Wight, Gary McDonald, Alison Steadman, Liz Smith, Sheila Kelley, Angela Curran, Linda Beckett, Philip Davis, Wendy Nottingham, Anthony O'Donnell, Ruth Sheen, Mia Soteriou.
(English dialogue) Mike Leigh's first film in three years has all the feel of a career-summarizing work. A return to his less stygian, pre-"Naked" style of dysfunctional dramatic comedy, but painted on a far more ambitious and serious canvas, "Secrets & Lies" is unquestionably a finely observed, deeply felt work. At nearly 2 1/2 hours, however, and with some nagging problems in pacing and structure, a major question mark hangs over the pic's commercial future, even in the U.K., where it opens later this month after competing in Cannes. Kudos on the Croisette could help its passage in offshore markets.