Female Experiences In Secrets And Lies By Mike Leigh

Throughout his career, director Mike Leigh has focused on creating believable, powerful characters. Leigh has characterized his films as “emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, vulnerable” (Gordon, 1994). His 1996 film Secrets & Lies focuses on a successful black middle class optometrist tracking down her birth mother. Vera Drake (2004) follows a 1950s housekeeper providing illegal abortions to local women. Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) centers on Poppy, a school teacher with a compassionate nature and cheerful outlook. As a white man in an industry dominated by white male filmmakers, Leigh could easily produce work that reinforces patriarchal discourse and mainstream white culture. Instead, over the years he has used his privilege and talent in efforts to present authentic female experiences. This is demonstrated through
Monica is a woman struggling with multiple gynecological issues. We learn that she often experiences tremendous pain and grapples with revealing to her family the real reason she cannot have children. The film does not specify the condition Monica has, but many believe it is a chronic disease called endometriosis, including the Endometriosis Association of Australia and New Zealand who suggested the film to its Facebook followers this year. Leigh says Monica is a “multifaceted character” (google books). Most of his female characters are multi-faceted because we are presented with more than one side to them. As viewers get to know Monica, we learn how humiliated she feels to be what Maurice describes to the group as “physically incapable of having children.” Monica feels anxious and frustrated most of the time. We see how she can be harsh and unsympathetic, but it is difficult to label her a certain way as we get to know her. By the end of the film, we learn Monica is quite capable of behaving warmly toward