Secrets and Lies 04/03/21

Director Mike Leigh’s social-personal observations of life as it is lived in the U.K. always get to me — this one may simply be a more realistic soap opera, but it’s so good that one pays no attention to technical matters, who the actors are or when they are ‘acting.’  It just ‘is,’ and it’s so involving that one becomes anxious over the smallest thing. The actors grab our attention from the outset: Timothy Spall, Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook. It’s Leigh’s most acclaimed feature and the perfect antidote for bloated event filmmaking. And unlike some of his pictures, you walk out with a smile on your face. Extras include new interviews with Mike Leigh and Marianne Jean-Baptiste. On Blu-ray from The Criterion Collection.
04/03/21