Movie of the Week: SECRETS & LIES (Mike Leigh, 1996)

Mastertext

Many of my favorite movies aren’t at all the kinds of movies I want to make one day. In fact, most of them aren’t. I couldn’t — and wouldn’t want to — conjure a Close-Up, or a Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, or a Mulholland Dr. But Mike Leigh’s Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece is a notable exception to this pattern: it’s both one of my most treasured favorites and a perfect encapsulation of the way that I hope my work looks, feels, and exists in the world. Compelling characters with fascinating relationships intersecting in strange configurations; somber drama laced with unexpected humor; a spare-yet-beautiful visual language; a haunting music cue that knits it all together. In these ways, Secrets & Lies is the movie of my dreams. It doesn’t matter that it’s set in a London I’ll never know, or features eccentricities I’ll never fully understand, or was made in an improvisational mode of production I’ll never dare emulate. I’m talking about spirit. I want to chase that spirit, even if it’s obscured by differences in culture and genre and commercial demand. I understand that that’s probably a futile pursuit; and that Secrets & Lies — like any movie — is probably only the way it is because of who made it, where they made it, when they made it, and how they made it. But something in my gut tells me the chase will be worth it. With Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Brenda Blethyn, and Timothy Spall giving some of the best performances you’re ever likely to see.

Streaming on the Criterion Channel and HBO Max; available for rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and other major platforms.