Customer Reviews

The Secret [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"The Secret" stars David Duchovny as Ben Marris, a successful ophtalmologist who is happily married to Hannah [Lili Taylor of The Haunting]who is a housewife. They have a rebellious 16-year-old daughter Sam [Olivia Thirlby]and from the beginning we can see the antagonism Sam feels towards her over-protective mother. Both mom and daughter head out on a weekend trip and an accident causes both to be critically wounded, eventually resulting in a bizarre occurence in which Hannah's spirit transfers over to Sam's body whilst Sam's spirit lingers somewhere in limbo-land.

The rest of the movie deals with how Ben comes to grips with this bizarre turn of events and how Hannah struggles to cope not only with having lost her material body, but having to try to 'find' her daughter's spirit within Sam's physical self, whislt at the same time traversing the tension-fraught life of a high school teen. Both Ben and "Hannah as Sam" also have trouble dealing with the weirdness of their situation as being deeply in love, they come to certain realisations about the impossible situation they are both in. Ben is torn between wanting to satisfy his and Hannah's emotional and sexual needs whilst not wanting to cross the boundaries presented by his own daughter's material body.

The leads do a credible job of portraying three individuals trapped in an intolerable situation, though it is Duchovny's Ben and Thirlby's Sam that carry the movie for the most part. Olivia Thirlby's performance as Samantha/Hannah is commendable as she portrays both mother and teen credibly. Viewers can really tell when she is playing either mother or daughter. Thirlby is definitely a young actor of promising talent based on this performance.

This is supposedly a remake of a Japanese movie titled Himitsu, and though I haven't watched the original, this movie can stand alone on its own merits. Though it has a supernatural premise, it never really delves too deeply into that aspect for the movie deals more with how individuals cope under strange circumstances. Ben and 'Hannah' do seem to accept the situation way too quickly [which did strike me as very odd], but at 1.5 hrs long, the movie really didn't have the luxury of time to go in depth into the topic of spirit transference/possession.

On the whole, I found "The Secret" to be quite an engrossing drama and well carried by credible acting.

SPOILER ALERT
For those viewers who are very much concerned about the taboo aspects of this movie, i.e. a dad having to deal with a daughter who has her mother's spirit residing within her and the physical issues of dealing with that, do not fret. The movie never crosses the line towards actual physical consummation nor any explicit displays of affection between Ben and "Hannah as Sam".

Duchovny is one of my favorites and that main trailer had my customers asking lots of questions so I made sure to fit in this warped little title this weekend.

The story is laid out explicitly on the DVD case and in the trailer. Really all that was left to discover was how believable they made it and whether they cross any gross-out lines of keeping it "in the family". The performances were very adequate and make for a sustainable take on the body/spirit switch. The lead up to the event with their lovey-dovey marriage was over the top sap, but still fun. Through the course of the film, the young actress does a great job of fulfilling a split personality type roll, and I look forward to seeing more from her. By the end of the film you forget who is really there and who is not (in her mind).

SPOILER: I will get to the obvious question as numerous people have said they will not rent it if it goes down a certain path of consumation; It does not. But that does not mean you won't feel uncomfortable at times. For what this film is, I gave it a higher rating because of the believability without going X-Files-ish in how/why it happens, plus the acting was solid.

Quality of the DVD was fine, (did not get to the Blu this week) but it still showed a variety of failings with the camera grain; there were several takes of back/forth dialogue scenes that were obviously shot by different cameras where the grain detracted from the scene. The interviews and behind the scenes were nice additions for the release.

The Secret is heartbreaking, emotional and beautiful. That is a near impossible balance to find in a film today. It may be a remake, but this is no slouch effort, and it stands alone. Normally I do not care for Duchovny at all, but he did a fine job here. The real credit, however, goes solely to Olivia Thirlby, who manages to portray two characters at once seamlessly. Freaky Friday may play body-switching for laughs, but The Secret gives you an idea of what really would transpire. I did not expect to like it as much as I did, and this is without a doubt a hidden gem.

THE SECRET is a bit weird and disturbing. David Duchovny's wife and daughter, essentially estranged from each other, are in a horrific car crash. The daughter dies. The distraught wife dies at the same moment crying her daughter's name. Mysteriously, the daughter recovers, only she's no longer Duchovny's daughter, she's Duchovny's wife in their daughter's body.

So far so weird. But THE SECRET, a bizarre take on FREAKY FRIDAY, gets a little disturbing as the Mrs. settles into her daughter's life, discovering (or rediscovering) the joys of being sixteen, including sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. She also sleeps with (but doesn't seduce) Duchovny, but the intimate adult-to-adult conversations between husband/father and wife/daughter are enough to make your skin crawl, since the line, though never crossed, is toed very tightly.

There is a denoument, but to tell it would be to ruin the ending, and THE SECRET doesn't deserve to be ruined. It is worth watching, though the moral of the story is, unsurprisingly, a bit murky.

What are the chances of your wife and your daughter being in a car accident, then your wife dies but her spirit transfer to your daughter's body? And you, being the husband, has to deal with the consequences?

One little defect in it is that...I cant seem to get the following idea out of my head: Lily Taylor being a blind suspect in the X-Files during season 5...n now she gets to kiss Agent Mulder in this movie...=.=

Do you know what I mean?:p

This isn't a bad movie although sometimes it freaks me out when father and daughter seem like they might get intimate. The movie is about a family with a teenage daughter that acts like your typical teenager. The mom and daughter had an accident, the mom's body died which then her spirt went into her daughter. It's almost like freaky Friday the movie but a more serious drama.

I saw the 2007 French/American version of this film first without knowing it was a remake. I liked it, especially the performance by Olivia Thirlby, but when I discovered the 1999 Japanese version, Himitsu, which I liked even more, it highlighted for me a little of why I like Japanese films in particular, and East Asian films in general. It's a lot sweeter and more subtle. More sad too, casts a wider emotional net. As a matter of disclosure I'll point out that I am not a remake basher, on principle, at all.

The basic story centers on a seventeen year old girl whose body is inhabited by her mother's soul. The two of them were in a terrible accident, and while in the hospital, just as the mother is about to die she reaches over, all ceiling of the Sistine Chapel like, and transfers her soul into the body of her daughter. The daughter keeps her body but becomes her mother in personality and memories. When she goes to school and hangs out with her friends she doesn't really know what's going on, who the people are or what her homework assignments are, because ... well, she's her mother now, for all practical purposes. It takes her a while to come to terms with what's happened and even longer to convince her father/husband.

Now, to cut right to the chase in case you can't see the 400 pound gorilla in the room, once the father is convinced that his wife is living in the body of his daughter and they, well, ya know, they're all in love and stuff ... so what about sex?

Things get a little creepy but I give both films high marks for how delicately the sex question is handled. I'll leave it at that and say it's not the main theme of either film, just one of many issues that come up.

The English version is loud and antagonistic. It's not a horror movie (not sure how it got marketed as such) unless you consider David Duchovny spooning with a seventeen year old girl to be horror. The daughter is in rebellion mode against the mother before the accident and their relationship takes center stage--the mother discovering her daughter's world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll while the daughter comes to recognize the love that her mother has always had for her. The Japanese version is much quieter in comparison. The mother and daughter love each other very much and the antagonism angle focuses on the husband/wife relationship. The husband becomes sad and wimpy, feeling oppressed by having his wife around only as a roadblock to his moving on. The diet of sadness is served in small introspective doses, though, and changes how the film resolves. In the English version the resolution occurs between the mother and daughter. In the Japanese version it is between the husband and wife and involves a big twist that should serve to remind viewers that this has been a fantasy film, after all. As mentioned, I saw the English remake first and it didn't do the twist, and when I watched the original (with the twist) I thought to myself "This is why I like Asian cinema." It is so Japanese. Just when the limits of despair seem to have been reached, another complex layer of sadness is revealed for your weeping pleasure. (I wonder how the book they're both based upon ends.)

I'm not a remake basher but I think if I had seen the Japanese version first I might have railed against the remake for changing focus and tone. Having seen the English version first allowed me to enjoy it for what it was, and it didn't in any way impinge upon my enjoyment of the original. I recommend both films but suggest, oddly, seeing the remake first. Both films explore, and handle, the creepy dilemma of "Would you have sex with your wife if she was living in your daughter's body?" quite well. They're both sweet and touching ... except for some of the touching.

this story based on spiritual transference is well done and keeps the viewer guessing throughout the film. Good drama. The family dynamics and dysfunction that are explored are interesting in their own right.

This adaptation of a Japanese film was completely not what I expected - it's more a psychological thriller, a different, more intelligent take on the Freaky Friday motif. It brings up many moral and ethical issues that might arise with psychological disorders and traumas. Olivia Thirlby is brilliant and extremely effective in her first role in this film. David Duchovny has a few great moments and in the beginning of the film looks so young, it makes one reminisce the first years of The X-Files. Additionally, the soundtrack is very appropriate and very melodic.

A somewhat trite storyline, but done really well, with no gratuitous sensuality! Ending may be a surprise, depending on how many movies of this type one has watched!