Annyerism

A few years ago Rod Steiger came to a film festival where "The Loved One" was being shown, among other of his works. He talked a little about the making of this amazing oddball movie, and said there are several "versions" that were made, because of the riskiness of much of this material. I didn't remember this version being any different. It was Steiger's comment that there was "something to offend everybody" in it.

Steiger does steal the show, but Robert Morse is never wackier(which is saying something!), and there's something about a film that combines such greats as John Gielgud, Jonathan Winters, Milton Berle, Dana Andrews, Roddy McDowell... The comedy, I hope, is timeless.

It took a second viewing of Mike Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies' to reveal the depth of its genius. I love character-driven drama, and this film succeeds in creating indelible portraits. Even the social worker is quirky and memorable instead of just furthering the plot and being patently sympathetic.

I could write quite a lot about Blethyn's riveting performance. How drained she must have been after sustaining a character who seems always at the height of emotional pressure. Opposite her, Jean-Baptiste seemed as cool and smooth as could be. The contrasts created by these personae even extended to costume and decor.

I decided to watch this movie again because after a BBC Shakespeare binge I wanted to see everything Ron Cook has been in. And while the Stuart scene is really somewhat incongruous to the rest of the family plot, Cook's scene as the bitter, drunk 't****r' works for me perfectly. So do the scenes of photo sessions -- and it's a matter of observing this film in terms of clarity of personal vision. The occupations of photographer and optometrist seem to lend metaphors of spirituality -- for Maurice, the ability to see people as they are, and for Hortense, the ability to understand how others see the world. The wall of smoke that Cynthia and Roxanne seem to keep in front of them. The disparity between the images created for the formal portraits and the truth of the personalities in them. In a distinctly un-sappy way, Leigh has explored the old adage that "the truth will set you free."

If one reads a paragraph describing the main plot -- the adopted child seeking out her birth mother -- a very clear idea of a movie-of-the-week story comes to mind. 'Secrets and Lies' is nothing like that, and shows a mastery of vision and a cast of great talent. My roommate agreed, saying he thought this was one of the best films he's seen this decade.

Like another person who posted here, I have a fond memory of this BBC miniseries presented here in the States on Masterpiece Theater on PBS. I have been hoping that it will pop up on home video at some point. I see IMDB doesn't have complete cast/crew details for this one and I'm hoping that someone will supply them eventually. It's great to see another person remembering and requesting this fine adaptation, which as I recall appeared on PBS just after another treat, the "Fortunes of War" miniseries that brought Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson together for the first time.