Word: blethyn
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...known for corrosive studies of family breakdowns. An epic in miniature, S&L is nearly 2 1/2 hours of bruising tenderness and bravura acting, yet it sails along with the expectation that some families can end up with the happiness they have worked so hard to avoid. Expect Brenda Blethyn, a teary tornado as the mother, to be in an aisle seat on Oscar night...
Siblings Maurice (Timothy Spall) and Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) shared a challenging childhood and adolescence but have since hardly spoken to each other: he is married and busy with a prosperous photography business; she is coping as a single mother of a chain-smoking teen, Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook). Meanwhile, Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), the child Cynthia gave up for adoption and forgot, tracks down her mother. Revelation to Maurice and to Roxanne seems imminent. Drama ensues...
...these pacific figures, Leigh adds shaking, saddened Cynthia -- and there lies the rub. Blethyn gives Cynthia all the delicacy and poise of a crack baby, at times almost frightening to watch. This portrayal works to a large extent and could probably stand on its own. She is, in truth, still a child who was thrust into playing the adult early on, and Blethyn's small, quavering voice further lends a perfect, little-girl feel to all her quirky little expressions ("I wouldn't know 'im if'e stood up in me soup...
...down to the final scene, Blethyn just seems to inhabit a higher level of misery, to achieve great heights of red-faced weeping, to which the other actors simply aren't aspiring. It's not overdone, it's completely appropriate to her story but there are rare times when it just doesn't click. Fortunately, these times are few and far between, and Leigh knows enough to manipulate the overall pace of the movie so as to distribute attention fairly amongst the ones suffering. At one point, when Cynthia begins to meet regularly with her new-found darling Hortense...
Secrets & Lies is rich in humor, pained or frolicking. Blethyn's Cynthia is an especially voluptuous creation, with her carelessly dyed hair and mincing steps, her metallic, baby-doll voice that calls everyone darlin' or sweetie, her habit of puddling into tears as her life spins out of control...