The Secret

I decided to watch this on Foxtel the other day. I thought that this movie would be another cheap pay to view movie that I'd leave halfway through. I was exceptionally surprised because this movie wasn't just another Hollywood puked out film. It was a wonderfully directed, acted and screen played film that moved me. The plot follows the characters of a father (David Duchovny) , mother called Hannah (Lilly Taylor) and rebellious daughter called Sam (Olivia Therby). The girls are in an accident and Hannah wakes up to see Sam dead next to her in hospital. Through the strength of her love she grabs Sams hand and gives her life for Sam. The twist is that when Sam wakes up she isn't herself but Hannah. The story follows Sam, or actually Hannah and the father and the problems it incurs. The movie shows the hardship of loving someone but not being able to be with them. It also expresses the relationship between mother and daughter and struggles that life throws at them. The actors were wonderful, the plot had a cathartic effect, the filming was griping, and the script was realistic and deep. Vincent Perez has done a wonderful job of pulling this movie together and deserves more credit. Even though this movie was a remake of an earlier Japanese film, it didn't matter. If you have a thing for romance, depth, the paranormal, true passion and emotion then this is the movie for you.

Well, being a die hard David Duchovny fan, this one was a must watch. Had heard a lot about this movie, and am so glad I could finally watch it ! I think its a beautiful story and it just broke my heart to see the pain unfold through the eyes of the various characters in the movie. This film should have got a worldwide theatrical release. Normally, movies dealing with the supernatural aspect, scare me a bit, but not this one! Its a good thing because the way of storytelling in this movie, is very subtle, giving the viewer just the right amount of thrills. David Duchovny was as usual his brilliant self. I liked the gentleness he brought to his role as a father. Olivia Thirlby is a brilliant actress who played her role with great conviction. This movie is surely going into my all time favorites collection and is a must watch for any David Duchovny fan!

Ick. Waiting/worrying that something would "happen" between Ben & Hannah/Sam was just too creepy/grueling for me. This story definitely did not need to be told. Did I say ick?

First, I enjoyed the movie. The story was more than interesting, had plenty of dramatic elements, convincing performances, and a rich visual presentation. Second, this is one of those rare movies, like BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, where I kept feeling the better story was slightly out of reach. I don't know why that is. It could be me, it could be somebody was locked into the screenplay and couldn't make changes, or it could be the writer was just going in a different direction and I didn't want to follow. We started off OK. The father was in both disbelief and denial. His wife terribly confused to find herself in her daughter's body. The father slowly comes around as the evidence mounts. This is where I come off the tracks. I would have written the rebirth of the husband/wife relationship and built on the obvious problems that would entail. The father keeps seeing his daughter every time he looks at his wife, the wife's friends become suspicious, people begin looking at the father oddly because of his apparent strange relationship with his daughter. Adding a sexual element here would have been unnerving and highly dramatic. Not a popular decision but I would have done it anyway. Then I would have introduced the daughter back into the equation with the wife becoming aware of her daughter's presence, slowly but increasingly aware, and at that point the husband/wife become distant from each other as their confusion mounts over not understanding what's happening. I would have ended the movie the same way, with the daughter returning. I would have, however, offered a few more scenes of spiritual explanation, possibly because I am not spiritual at all and I would feel the need to offer some reason for what has happened. Like I said before, it's really unusual for me to react to a story this way, but every so often I sense a better story and simply yearn for it. I am in no way criticizing this one. This is a fine story and a fine movie.

We came upon this movie by accident at BlockBuster last night. We're both David Duchovny fans and movie buffs, but it was a surprise. Not a bad little movie. The subject matter I guess made it fall to the bottom of reviewers' and publicists' bins. Borders on father/daughter love. Since it's handled so discreetly, though, I'm not sure why it got dropped out of any press whatsoever. Terry Gilliam in Tideland went much farther into forbidden territory. If he had made this movie, maybe the father would have had sex with his wife/daughter. That's another movie we discovered by accident: Terry Gilliam's Tideland. Not for squeamish prudes, but riveting for those with open minds.

This film had a decent cast, but some of them didn't seem to fit their parts. Now David Duchovny did a pretty good job. He seemed normal and the parts when he was losing it, he was very believable. Lili Taylor did a good job, but I wish she was in it more. Olivia Thirlby plays the daughter of Duchovny and Taylor. The mom's soul goes into the daughter, so through most of the movie, Thirlby had to pretend to act like Taylor. At parts it seemed like she was, but other parts not so much. I did on the other hand like the story a lot. The ending was a little off for me, but it wasn't terrible. The movie really didn't have a scare factor. The film sets itself up to be scary, but it is not. It is mentally creepy though. If you pay attention to the characters, you will see what I am talking about. So overall, it was decent, but not the best of its genre.

The Actors!!! David DoucheCauseHeCan plays himself again in film not so unlike the X-files. The Plot. David has an ugly wife and a HOT HOT daughter, but both end up in a snowy car crash landing them both in the hospital. The wife's soul or something transplants itself conveniently in the daughter. Is this a comedy? I thought it was until the second act. David looks longingly into his daughters eyes, the windows of the hoe, and see's his ugly wife and then proceeds to send her to teenage parties where she does a drug called Special k that sends her into a K hole and then she becomes her self again, but only for a little bit because she becomes David's wife again and he so wants to have sex with her. There are Oedipal undertones of which the Great Pervert Sophocles couldn't even surface with his big fat Greek face. For example, David wouldn't even dream of having sex with anyone but his daughter but had to for like.. since he married his ugly wife, have sex with Tea Leoni, his MOM!. Also, the hot daughter, when rejected by David, wandered off to liaise with courtly young suitors but opted to have sex with an older man.. her father. In the end the movie just ends without anything interesting. Matthew Lillard should have come in and done Scooby Doo or something SLC punk, like kicking his career in the prostate. THEN I would have given this a 10. FINAL SYNOPSIS: The Secret. Strong enough for a man, have sex with your daughter. 9

An old movie theme, soul transfer, gets new life in this film by Vincent Perez. Though some have called it a "thriller" even a "horror thriller", it's anything but. Just to add to the previous comments, I was very intrigued by the idea of taking what's usually played for laughs-a mother's soul trapped in her daughter's body and looking at the potential consequences in a dramatic situation. Thoughtfully and well done, with the parents torn between their desire to be and stay together and their love for their lost daughter. Ms. Thirlby is terrific in switching between the various characters of mother/daughter/joint personality. She makes the transitions quite believable, even disturbing. And while the movie does avoid crossing a certain sexual line, the tension in the temptation for the mother to resume her life at her daughter's expense is made clear. David Duchovny does a fine job as the father, a decent man trying to do the right thing in a bewildering and impossible situation. His own shifts from caring dad/loving husband to overprotective parent/bitterly jealous husband and back are well done and understatedly believable. The wonderful Lili Taylor gets less screen time but her Hannah character is a dominant presence throughout the film. A moving love story on two levels-a couple for each other; a father and mother for their daughter.

This movie turned out to be a total emotional roller coaster for me. I haven't cried so much for a long time. The combination of real life drama with fiction made the movie feel very spiritual and much deeper than most realistic dramas feel. Apart from the supernatural premise, the rest of the movie is very realistic and well acted. Duchovny's performance is excellent and I love the peaceful aura he always portrays. When it comes to Olivia all I can say is that her beauty and acting talent go hand in hand to create a heartbreakingly beautiful synergy. She strongly reminds me of Milla when she was younger. This film contains such a rich and complex artistic portrayal of some of the most beautiful and painful aspects of life that I'm tempted to consider it epic. I think this is a prime example that cinema is evolving in the right direction. Thank you so much for creating art like this.

I'm not entirely sure why most sites put this under the "Thrillers" genre rather than "drama", but I'm glad i saw it regardless. Based on the 1998 book 'Himitsu' by Japanese writer Keigo Higashino, this is a heart-strings story with its fair share of humor. But it's definitely a tear-jerker, and a very good one at that. It was shot in Montreal (hence all the French names in the credits) but could be set anywhere in the States. If you happen to really like Lili Taylor & David Duchovny as I do, then you're in for a treat. The young actress is also wonderful and holds her own against these two veterans. I was relieved that they did not cross the line in this version (you'll know what i mean when you watch the film); it would have cheapened the film and changed the whole message and dynamic. All in all, a film worth watching. ~NN