Secrets & Lies (1996)

IMDb double tags "Secrets & Lies": comedy + drama. Unfortunately IMDb doesn't also mention how much of the one or the other you get, and I assume the ordering is alphabetical. So, a warning - what we have here is about 95% drama, a maybe a 5% of bitter comedy. Fortunately, that doesn't spoil the movie (well, at least if you're not looking for a comedy).

The development is a bit long, even though it somehow follows two lines of action. We're introduced in the life of a family living in the London suburbs of the '90s. On one side we have a single mother of modest condition, a factory worker, close to depression and in constant conflict with her soon-to-be 21 years old daughter. Give the occasion, the uncle, a photographer somewhat more successful in life, at least financially, tries to plan a barbecue reunion. Meanwhile, an adopted optometrist, decides after the death of both her parents to search for her natural mother. Probably it won't be a great surprise where the investigation leads.

The movie is built on top of this story, maintaining a slowly but steadily increasing tension level up to the climactic meeting in the end. The risk is to get you bored if you're not patient enough to digest all the symbolic elements - for example, the photo sessions that insist on the idea that there aren't any ordinary people free of troubles. All this slow development is meant to also define in more detail the characters, the actors doing an amazing job. The characters are relatively diverse, so until the end there is a chance to start relating with one or the other. That's probably the main strength of the movie, because otherwise it doesn't excel technically. Probably the screenplay could be easily adapted to a stage play. The finale comes with a predictable climax, but is also somehow cathartic, which, depending on the person, could exert a strong impact. Not necessarily concerning the family situation in the movie, but the generally entangled family situations where it's sometimes awfully hard to maintain a balance. But well, as someone told me once, "families are always getting complicated" :)...

Rating: 4 out of 5