Secrets & Lies

Mike Leigh, UK / France, 1996
Two and a half stars

I felt really absorbed by this film for most of its running time. It seemed to be a really chilling display of emotional squalor, like the director was really dragging me through the mud of human misery, and all this despite the fact that most of the characters are fairly mediocre in their tragic-ness. While I realize that that is the point, ultimately this film can only disappoint by not really going for the jugular. It’s really almost like the director said, “oh, wouldn’t it be interesting and challenging if this happened” and then went ahead and put it on screen without trying that hard to make it interesting. Furthermore, there is a kind of optimism that creeps in towards the end that complete undermines the entire tone of the film up until that point, making one wonder what good the film is if not as some kind of coherent philosophical viewpoint. I think the performances are good – Brenda Blethyn is hard to listen to, but then, that helps us understand why some of her relatives are so hard on her – but they are not really used towards some greater purpose. The whole affair is largely underwhelming.

Source: Fox DVD
16 October, 10:22 PM