Secrets & Lies: A Heartfelt Mess

Okay, let’s chat about this little gem from ’96, Secrets & Lies, directed by the brilliant Mike Leigh. I remember the first time I watched it. I was still living in that small, cluttered one-room apartment in Stockholm, with hardly enough space to stretch my legs. The wallpaper was a bit dodgy, peeling in the corners, but I was too mesmerized by Brenda Blethyn’s performance to care. Her portrayal of Cynthia, a slightly chaotic but undeniably loving woman, resonated with my own messy family dinners where everyone spoke at once.

The movie’s got Timothy Spall too, who just owns it as the photographer brother, Maurice. That warm yet bewildered face of his, trying to keep everyone together—it reminds me of all the times I played peacemaker in family squabbles. Oh, and let’s not forget Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who makes everything so raw and real. When her character, Hortense, breaks into tears, I swear I felt my own eyes tingling, and I’m known to be a tough nut to crack when it comes to tearing up.

There’s a weird kind of comfort in watching people make a mess of things and then somehow piecing it back together. We Swedes might call it “lagom”—not too much, not too little, just enough of the chaos. But do we really need to dig so deep into each painful little lie and secret? Sometimes, it feels a bit too close to home, like poking at an old wound.

And the setting—oh the dreary English streets, much like our grey Stockholm mornings. It’s both familiar and foreign in that typical greyish-brown kind of way.

So, Secrets & Lies: it’s a bit like lingonberry jam on your pancakes, an odd mix of sweet and sour, but oh-so-irresistible. If you like your drama with a pinch of real-life awkwardness and unexpected warmth, give it a go. Just make sure you have some tissues handy!

Check the trailer below