(4 of 4)
Cynthia's brother Maurice is a portrait photographer, and in some of Secrets & Lies' most charming vignettes we see people posing before his camera. Among the clients are actors from Leigh's earlier films, and one likes to think he has given reprieve to the mean times they endured: the cleaning woman in Hard Labour (Liz Smith), now a swank matron; the adulterer in Home Sweet Home (Elliott) giggling with two girlfriends; the conniving hostess of Abigail's Party (Steadman) primping her pet dog for a glamour shot. The wounded creatures of Leigh's angrier films are reconciled into one big, happy family. Secrets & Lies shows Mike in all his moods: true Leigh, mad Leigh, deep Leigh.
--With reporting by Elizabeth L. Bland/New York