I finally got around to see Mike Leigh's Secrets and Lies and what a fantastic fucking movie that was. It was nominated for Best Picture in 1996, nominated alongside, Fargo, Jerry Maguire, and Shine, which all lost to The English Patient. Mike Leigh has got the be the most underappreciated director of all time. So many big movie fans have never seen any of his movies or even heard of him because he's stuck to making British films in England and they're all independent. Anyone who loves films with good characters that are brilliantly acted that are great dramas, often with some really good laughs, should check out his movies.
There's a scene in Secret and Lies which is all one long, unbroken shot, of two people sitting on the same side of at able in a diner. The camera doesn't move at all. This scene had to have been around 10 minutes long, and it's so great to just see the actors work to the point where a few expressions were enough to make me laugh for a good minute straight.
5/5