Life may be stranger than fiction, but few films are as odd as Mike Leigh's darkly comedic family drama "Secrets and Lies." After winning the Palme d'Or (first prize) at the Cannes Film Festival last spring this British director has gained a standing ovat ion from the critics this side of the Atlantic. And he did it all without the use of a film script.

During the past twenty-five years the prolific director of films such as "Naked" and "Life is Sweet" has attempted to get closer to real life by avoiding the rigidity of a scripted framework. He begins with only a vague vision of the film's characters and story line. The scenes and dialogue are then hammered out with the actors through collaborative rehearsals that go on for several months before the film is actually shot.

"Secrets and Lies" was rehearsed for five months before the film crew was invited aboard. Although this process seems to have produced some excellent acting, the film is quite disappointing in other ways. The cinematography and editing is clumsy and dull, the heavy soundtrack is mismatched with the film's quirky drama, and the story is both long (two hours and 16 minutes) and hard to follow. The scenes feel true enough, but they drag on and are so dense with information that we're thrown off, not knowing what to pay attention to.

The film's story revolves around Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn), a needy and unstable working class mother who lives with her tense, soon to be 21-year-old, daughter Roxanne (Claire Rushbrook). Cynthia spends most of her time telling her daughter about all the men that loved her when she was young, and battering tediously about the virtues of birth control. When Roxanne scoffs at her, or heads off with her new "bloke" (whom she refuses to bring into the apartment) Cynthia breaks down in tears. This cycle, alth ough believable, is repeated so many times that we began to wonder if Cynthia can do anything but cry, and if Roxanne can do anything but frown. The other person Cynthia sheds tears over is her "baby brother" Maurice (Timothy Spall), a studio and wedding photographer whose year-old home she still hasn't been invited to visit. Some unspecified conflict appears to be going on between her and Maurice's wife Monica (Phylis Logan). The message is clear: Cynthia feels rejected by her family and alone in the wor ld.

Running parallel to Cynthia's teary segments is a story of a young black optometrist named Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) who sets out to find her birth mother after the recent death of her adopted mother has left her orphaned. She is surprised when th e agency informs her that her biological mother is white, but she never questions the decision to retrace her roots.

Cynthia is shocked when her first daughter, whom she has never seen, not only turns up after 28 years but also turns out to be black. At first she rejects the possibility that Hortense is her daughter, but eventually she comes around and begins to remembe r. The final resolution between mother and daughter takes place in a single two-shot that lasts for a whopping eight minutes. Leigh is breaking conventions here and the scene might have worked if Hortense was given something to say, but instead it becomes another one of Cynthia's crying monologues. Predictably the characters slowly become close friends and Hortense fills the void in Cynthia's life.

When Morris decides to throw an unprecedented barbecue for the dysfunctional family, in honor of Roxanne's 21st birthday, Cynthia invites Hortense, whom she pretends to be a friend from work. When the truth comes out the family members are startled - each in their own way. The shock waves unhinge a number of lesser family secrets (and lies) that the story has tried to clue us into. At this point a few diffuse elements of the film are clarified, but unfortunately they don't add up to much. It's a long haul for a short ride. We get the point though: when the secrets and lies of the family are revealed, the family is brought closer together.

The film spends much effort focusing on the white characters' subtle racism against Hortense. Cynthia keeps saying how "proud" she is of her, and when the family, grappling for things to say, asks her if she took a cab to the barbecue Cynthia quickly snap s that Hortense owns her own car. But the film doesn't live up to the excessive praise it's been given for this portrayal. Although Jean-Baptiste is a fine actress, Hortense, as a character, is flat. Leigh has made the common mistake of idealizing her. Sh e is college educated, beautiful, has a great job, and is free of any prejudices of her own. They react to her, and she accommodates to them. Leigh makes some interesting points, but his vision is too one-sided to be truly insightful.

This is the film in a nutshell. Although the performances often transcend fiction, the film comes together in a manner that feels more awkward than real. Critics have been impressed by the unconventional style and subject matter of "Secrets and Lies," but in the end, these elements fail to turn it into a great film.

"Secrets and Lies" is playing at the Loft Cinema. Call 795-7777 for showtimes.

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