Secrets & Lies

After the death of her adoptive mother, successful black London optometrist Hortense Cumberbatch wants to know who her biological mother is. It turns out to be Cynthia Purley, a white factory worker who lives with her rebellious daughter Roxanne in a poverty-stricken part of London. The shock is great, for both of them; Cynthia denies, Hortense can hardly believe it. Once they have recovered from the shock, a bond hesitantly develops between the two, but of course this affects family relations. And there were tensions anyway: Cynthia does not get along at all with her brother Maurice's wife, while her bond with Roxanne also leaves much to be desired. She has to face the past.

In this sparkling and highly successful mix of drama and comedy, director Mike Leigh poignantly shows what secrets and lies bring about in a life. Brenda Blethyn, best known for her role of chief inspector Vera Stanhope from the British police series Vera, steals the show as Cynthia.