Roxanne is a character that is hiding her pain. The desperateness of her character is highlighted well after Roxanne leaves with her boyfriend, and she is desperate to find out who he is. Cynthia is a character portrayed wonderfully she clings to objects around her, stands at her job repeating the same action with such repetitive speed that we believe it is all she is good at and presents herself in a manner that screams working class industrial slave! Her makeup is overly applied she doesn't mind getting drunk and has internal problems (shown to us quite well in the mirror scene). Watching characters evolve throughout a movie is often the best way to perceive the inner working of their mind (moreover the actors persona). This claustrophobic effect clashes with the open spaced house so well that the notions the viewer receives are as intended, and contrast well. The difference in housing also become apparent, as the average family lives spaciously in a six bedroom house while the two women that slave all day come home and sit really close to each other to talk. Cynthia works a boring job making paper boxes, and we can see this reflects how she lives and perceives her life - as one sided and plain as the her daily actions. In the first few scenes of the film we are shown where four main characters live and work, and the class difference is made obvious to us: Maurice, with his housewife Monica, share the idealistic and predicted partnership for people above working class - they are the average wage earners. For example, when Roxanne is cleaning the street people in suits walk by and completely ignore her, demonstrating what a low class job this is and how those around her perceive it. Mike Leigh uses setting to show class difference and different social situations. True to life settings serve this film by providing the viewer with information on a character's deeper self interaction between characters provides the viewer with the shell with which characters present themselves to those around them. The contrast between the picture of Roxanne happy, young and smiling on Maurice's mantle with the current Roxanne working on the street is also a good example of how Mike Leigh's visuals affect characterisation. We then flash to Maurice's sister Cynthia, who unlike Maurice's wife Monica clings to her drink in desperation. His wife drinks casually and asks about his day, and when they reach the topic of his sister and their niece it is obvious they share different opinions. Visuals are also used to show class differences: Maurice, a photographer, well paid and happy, goes home to his well-dressed wife and big house. This is the type of scene that shows the viewer circumstances without significant character interaction, and it provides a good understanding of plot rather than depth of characterisation. The transition of this scene and the next ( funeral to wedding) invokes a grim feeling from the viewer as they accept complete sadness with newly wed bliss. An overhead camera angle shows us the word 'mum' spelled out with flowers, and the viewer comes to the conclusion that the woman the camera has just cut away from is the daughter of the woman being buried. A close-up camera shot of Hortense, a woman with tears running down her face and not singing a note, shows the viewer that she shared a significant relationship with the person being buried. The camera shots show mourners, mostly people of African origin, singing plain faced in unison. It appears as if the actor's names are printed on the gravestones but as we scroll past them they fade away, directing the viewers attention once again at the burial the camera focuses on. The opening sequence shows the actor's names in the credits, as the camera scrolls around a choir scene, in the middle of a cemetery. Visuals in 'Secrets and Lies' are used to a great extent to show contrasts between characters, invoke a specific feeling in the viewer and symbolise important feelings and thoughts of the characters however it is the actors performance that portrays the characters to the high standard at which they are.
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