Customer Reviews

Secret Smile

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

 

 

David Tennant is absolutely fantastic in this film - completely believable and utterly psychotic (in a kind of good way). He exudes a sort of magnetism throughout the film that sends chills up and down your spine! This is definitely a must-see movie for all David Tennant fans!

no secret here...David Tennant is an amazing actor. Equal parts charming and deliciously evil, David pulls this role on like a custom fit suit and strides about with purpose and passion. Plenty of lovely twists and turns to keep a person from getting too comfortable with the story. Your unease builds to a real nail biter of a conclusion that moves you forward on the couch a bit. I was this close to yelling at the screen,'get out of the house you silly girl!'...always a good sign in a movie!

For those David Tennant fans out there, this is as un-Doctor-like as it gets. He plays an ideal boyfriend gone wrong, one whose devotion and attachment is flattering at the start but quickly becomes creepy then deadly. The coldness in his eyes is chilling. Yet he is not the lead, and it was the main character that I found lacking. I found Kate Ashfield disappointing, a little strident and a boring as her over-bleached hair, not convincing at all as a woman working in a man's world (I speak from experience here).
Nonetheless, I am delighted that this is available in Region 1 now and happy to be able to see it as a whole film rather than YouTube fragments. It's a must-have for Tennant fans.

I rented this to see David Tennant in something other than Doctor Who and got far more than I expected to see. For every woman who has ever been interested in a man because he has charm and good looks, this is the argument for taking it slow and careful if ever I saw one. Brendan is capable of great charm, masking the psychotic beneath. The show is at its' best when he's turning Miranda's family against her with a carefully-placed conversation or two that makes you wonder if your own loved ones could be fooled so easily. It twists and turns so many times, but has a satisfying end. I promptly bought it to watch again.

I'd read the book prior to buying the DVD and was already a fan of the story. Watching David Tennant playing so many heroic and comedic roles, it was so exhilarating seeing him play a damaged and manipulative character. I think he carried the piece, where other acting performances dropped (quite heavily in parts), he was there to pick everything back up again.

I don't tend to watch this kind of film but I found Secret Smile to be well done. Creepy without being overly gross. David Tennant was particularly good. The way "Brandon Block" could, with tender and gentle touch and great goodwill in his eyes, deliver an oblique threat or be just flat inappropriate was really creepy at times. This film is good for it's genre.

Secret Smile. Rate *****
A well acted and directed probably made for television as it was presented in 2 parts. Started rather a bit slow but this Psychological thriller developed very excitingly as the time passes. Suspence prevaled as the minutes passed. I have not read the original novel by the now established Nicci French from which the script was adapted.
I don't like to get inside the mind of this psychopath whose mysteries smile was full of venom, while showing innocence. I recommend that it. It is more than worth having this DVD in your library.
The quality of the transfer is very good as also the sound track. It has a very exciting finale after all the jealousy, greed and revenge not to mention the innocent deaths. Actors David Tennant (Casanova) and Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) in my opinion were great. Don't reviel the ending.

I ordered a copy of this US version straight away, however the actual copy's disc quality suffers quite much. The menu looks homemade, the image transfer is not satisfactory, and the image is 4:3 instead of the original 16:9, which means quit some bits are cut off from either side of the screen.

Quality aside, the drama is still great!! I also recommend the novel by Nicci French.

Warning to those who only know David Tennant as the Doctor- be prepared to watch a couple of episodes of Doctor Who afterwards. That's how good he is at playing Brendan Block, this superficially charming psychopath. It got to the point that I was ready to find the nearest blunt object and beat his brains in every time I saw him. Also, Miranda Cotton, Kate Ashfield's character, breaks a Smart Girl cardinal rule- never, EVER take a strange man home with you and have sex with him, no matter how attractive or charming he may seem, and pays for it in spades. She got a little obsessive in her mission to take Brendan down, but I wouldn't blame her. He cost her a brother, a friend, her sanity and sense of safety. I wouldn't be too surprised if he had something to do with his family's death as well. In any event, if you like British television/movies, and especially if you're a Whovian that wants to see one of the Doctors in another light, check this out.

I like the movie, it's a great drama. The quality of the picture and sound though, is as if someone was watching it on TV and had a video recorder pointed at the TV. Really crappy quality on the picture and sound. Tennant was thrilling and chilling. The storyline is great. Reminds me of alot of those lifetime movies where a romance goes really wrong.

Even for a made for TV movie (which this was) it's crap quality on the picture. I was really disappointed.