Ongoing exploration of the contemporary world with a tragicomic study of human strengths and weaknesses.
I first fell in love with Mike Leigh in 1996. I dragged my friend Billy to see Secrets and Lies at a small Georgia theater that was quite far away from the small towns we lived in. Both physically and philosophically.
We both walked out of that movie with different feelings. His was more along the lines of “what the fuck did I just watch and why?”, while mine was one of wide-eyed wonder.
I’d had a surprise baby in my senior year of high school just one year earlier, and I think that is one of the reasons Secrets and Lies spoke to me so much. I made a split-second decision not to give my baby up for adoption, and I guess this was a way for me to see that alternative universe way, way in the future.
I gobbled up everything Mike Leigh-related I could get my hands on. Once I learned about his process for making movies, he quickly became one of my favorite writer/directors.
I waited a lot of years between movies.
Some were good, like Career Girls and Topsy Turvy. Some were excellent, like Vera Drake and Happy Go Lucky.
When I saw that Marianne Jean-Baptiste would be starring in his latest film, my brain started counting down the days.
I… didn’t like it. I mean, you know that. You saw my rating above.
Don’t get me wrong, I was blown away by Marianne Jean-Bapiste’s performance as Pansy. She was fueled by anger. Watching her wind up and then hate herself for the vitriol rushing out of her mouth. It happens so fast, and it’s so real.
This movie is a hard watch. It’s all depressingly, humanly sad. I’ve known people like Pansy. I’ve seen the fire of that anger in their eyes. And I know there is the possibility of happiness on the other side.
I didn’t really see that for anyone in this movie. Maybe Moses at the very end, but other than that, no character felt changed in any way.
I will probably watch this againn (in a few year’s time) to see if I can digest more of the film and its message. The performances were wonderful. The story just didn’t do it for me and that made me sad.
