Mike Leigh - Master of British Cinema

Today I have decided to write about my favourite film Director: Mike Leigh.

In England he is a national treasure in the film world and I have been a huge fan of his for many years. His wonderful body of work includes "Secrets & Lies", "All Or Nothing", "Naked", "Career Girls", "Vera Drake", "High Hopes", "Life Is Sweet", "Topsy-Turvy" and a vast amount of plays for British television during the 70's and 80's.

His films are known in the U.K. as "Kitchen Sink Dramas" (of which he is the master) as they deal with the "little things" in life, the real world and real people that everyone can relate to, they are heart-tugging stories of life, love, loss, laughter and tears, his films always have situations and relationships within the characters that everyday people can totally understand and feel a big connection with... all in all they are amazing!

I love all his films, but if you were to ask me to recommend just one I would have to go with "Secrets & Lies" starring the wonderful Brenda Blethyn, Timothy Spall and Marianne Jean-Baptiste...

Winner of the Palme D'or in Cannes for best Director, and best actress, as well as 5 Oscar nominations, a Golden Globe for Brenda Blethyn for best actress, as well as a host of many more awards of high esteem in 1996, this beautiful film is a delight to watch over and over again!

The "tagline" for the film's official poster upon it's release was:
"Roxanne drives her mother crazy. Maurice never speaks to his niece. Cynthia has a shock for her family. Monica can't talk to her husband. Hortense has never met her mother"

It is about a woman "Cynthia" (played wonderfully by Brenda Blethyn) who lives alone with her Daughter "Roxanne" who has no appreciation for her Mother at all.
Cynthia feels alone and isolated in her little world that includes her Brother "Maurice" played by Timothy Spall whom she rarely sees, along with his wife "Monica" who resents Cynthia and denies Maurice the right to see her, bad-mouthing her at every opportunity.
The thing is Cynthia has a secret... she was forced to give up a Daughter for adoption many years before, and now this long-lost Daughter "Hortense" played by Marianne Jean-Baptiste is searching for her birth Mother after losing her adoptive parents.
Enter a light into Cynthia's life, who at first is scared of this new person whom she feels will just disrupt everything and open up new wounds, but then she grows to love her and accept her back into her life.

The film deals with many issues, including class, race, differences, acceptance, appreciation, love, denial and pain, and despite all of this there are many scenes that are hilarious too.

Anyway, Cynthia's Brother Maurice decides to throw a barbecue party at his and his wife's home for his Niece Roxanne and invites them all for the first time.
Cynthia has asked if she can bring her "friend" from work (her long lost Daughter Hortense) but as all families have secrets and lies she has a secret of her own that she is planning to reveal in the film's finale.... these are truly heartbreaking scenes that will make you use a mountain of tissues, unless your heart is made of stone!

Timothy Spall has a speech near the end of the film in which he says "Secrets and Lies! we all have pain! why can't we share our pain?!" which is so true as every human being is flawed and we all have our problems and pain to deal with.
And there is a famous scene in the film which is shot inside a café in London, where both actresses (Brenda Blethyn and Marianne Jean-Baptiste) are held on an un-moving camera, improvising for 12 minutes, in which their emotions change from one minute to the next, for anyone interested in acting this scene is a master-class from two truly wonderful actresses! Pure talent!

In fact Mike Leigh is known for this in his films... he tells the actors and actresses the basic storyline and allows them to grow within their characters, to learn their character's backgrounds and life before the storyline within the film and improvise a lot of it on camera, which in return makes these films so real and emotional.

If you haven't already seen this wonderful film I urge you to go out and rent the Dvd and be taken on a roller-coaster ride of emotions within it's 2 and a half hours!
Everyone who loves cinema should see this modern day masterpiece!!

In closing, Mike Leigh has just finished a new film in London called "Happy-Go-Lucky" which will be released in the U.K. in April 2008, I will be looking forward to seeing that as soon as I can...
This wonderful British Director only makes a film once every 3 or 4 years but every piece of his work is true quality with some wonderful honest performances by brilliant actors and actresses, seek out his body of work, it will truly change your life!