Secrets & Lies
8.0
“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.”
After her adoptive mother dies, Hortense, a successful black optometrist, seeks out her birth mother. She's shocked when her research leads her to Cynthia, a working class white woman.
Where to watch
HBO Max
Stream
Criterion Channel
Stream
Amazon Video
Rent · Buy
Apple TV Store
Rent · Buy
Google Play Movies
Rent · Buy
YouTube
Rent · Buy
Your rating
Your review
Cast
57 people
Brenda Blethyn
Cynthia Rose Purley
Known for
Pride & Prejudice
Atonement
Su Elliott
Raunchy woman
Marianne Jean-Baptiste
Hortense Cumberbatch
Known for
Blindspot
Broadchurch
Timothy Spall
Maurice Purley
Known for
The Last Samurai
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Phyllis Logan
Monica Purley
Known for
Downton Abbey
No Way Up
Claire Rushbrook
Roxanne Purley
Known for
Enola Holmes
My Mad Fat Diary
Lee Ross
Paul
Known for
Andor
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Lesley Manville
The Social Worker
Known for
Maleficent
The Crown
Elizabeth Berrington
Jane
Known for
Good Omens
The Nevers
Michele Austin
Dionne
Known for
This Is Going to Hurt
Hard Truths
Ron Cook
Stuart
Known for
Chernobyl
The Odyssey
Trevor Laird
Hortense's Brother
Known for
Small Axe
Babylon
Mike Leigh Director · Andrew Dickson Composer Dick Pope Cinematographer
Worldwide gross $13M · Budget $4.5M · United States release September 27, 1996
Box office
Budget
$4,500,000
Worldwide gross
$13,417,292
Gross vs. budget
3.0×
Production
CiBy 2000
Production
Thin Man Films
Production
Channel Four Films
Production
October Films
Production
United Kingdom · France
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English · Greek
Release dates
France · May 10, 1996
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
United Kingdom · May 24, 1996
Theatrical
United States · September 27, 1996
Limited theatrical
United States · April 15, 1997
Physical · VHS
United States
September 27, 1996 · Premiere · New York Film Festival
October 10, 1996 · Premiere · Chicago International Film Festival
February 20, 1997 · Theatrical
June 11, 1997 · Physical · LaserDisc
February 1, 2005 · Physical · DVD
March 30, 2021 · Physical · The Criterion Collection Blu-ray
January 21, 2022 · Digital · Kanopy
Argentina
November 15, 1996 · Premiere · Mar del Plata Film Festival
February 27, 1997 · Theatrical
Australia
September 5, 1996 · Theatrical
Belgium
September 18, 1996 · Theatrical
Brazil
November 15, 1996 · Theatrical · mj.gov.br - Leda Films
October 2, 2000 · TV
January 1, 2017 · Physical · DVD
Canada
September 27, 1996 · Theatrical
February 9, 2002 · TV · Showcase
China
June 10, 2023 · Premiere · Shanghai International Film Festival
Czechia
July 1, 1996 · Premiere · Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
January 29, 1998 · Limited theatrical · Projekt 100
January 29, 1998 · Theatrical
April 3, 2009 · Premiere · Febio Film Festival
Denmark
September 13, 1996 · Premiere · Copenhagen Film Festival
October 11, 1996 · Theatrical
Finland
October 11, 1996 · Theatrical
August 24, 2009 · Premiere · Espoo Film Festival
France
September 18, 1996 · Theatrical
September 1, 1997 · Physical · VHS
October 12, 2000 · Premiere · Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish and British Film
October 1, 2006 · Physical · DVD
May 22, 2026 · TV · Canal+ Grand Écran
Germany
September 12, 1996 · Theatrical
Greece
December 6, 1996 · Theatrical
August 27, 2026 · Theatrical · Re-Issue
Hong Kong SAR China
January 9, 2004 · Premiere · UK Film Festival
Hungary
December 12, 1996 · Theatrical
Ireland
June 7, 1996 · Theatrical
Israel
July 29, 2019 · Physical · Blu-Ray Release
Italy
November 23, 1996 · Premiere · Cinema Giovani
December 6, 1996 · Theatrical
June 26, 2019 · Physical · DVD
Japan
December 21, 1996 · Theatrical
Mexico
May 16, 1997 · Theatrical
Netherlands
December 5, 1996 · Theatrical
January 1, 2010 · Physical · DVD
Poland
March 7, 1997 · Theatrical
Portugal
October 18, 1996 · Theatrical
November 16, 2018 · Theatrical · Re-Release
April 30, 2023 · Premiere · Porto, Batalha Centro de Cinema
Serbia
January 1, 1997 · Premiere · Belgrade Film Festival
February 26, 2010 · Theatrical · Belgrade Film Festival
Singapore
July 27, 1996 · Theatrical
Slovakia
September 3, 1998 · Theatrical
South Korea
September 21, 1996 · Theatrical
April 24, 2014 · Theatrical · Re-release
Spain
October 3, 1996 · Theatrical
Sweden
August 30, 1996 · Theatrical
Taiwan
January 24, 2025 · Theatrical · Restoration Re-Release
Türkiye
March 7, 1997 · Theatrical
Ukraine
July 14, 2019 · Premiere · Odesa International Film Festival
United Kingdom
September 29, 1997 · Physical · VHS
April 12, 1998 · TV · Channel 4
August 16, 2001 · Physical · DVD
March 2, 2015 · Physical · Blu-ray
April 26, 2021 · Physical · The Criterion Collection Blu-ray
October 25, 2021 · Premiere · BFI Southbank
Uruguay
March 6, 1997 · Theatrical
Venezuela
December 17, 1997 · Theatrical
More from Mike Leigh
Other films they directed, best known first.
Some details come from TheTVDB.