STUDIO: Image Entertainment
RELEASE DATE: August 26, 2008
STARRING: Olivia Thirlby, David Duchovny, and Lili Taylor
WRITTEN BY: Ann Cherkis
DIRECTED BY: Vincent Perez
FEATURES: Interviews with David Duchovny, Lili Taylor, and Olivia Thirlby
Behind-the-Scenes Footage
Trailer

A Frenchmen takes on a remake of a Japanese film with American actors. It sounds like a recipe for certain failure. And there's something about the words "David Duchovny drama" that sends shivers down a critic's spine. He's been great in The X-Files and Californication but he's had more than a few theatrical misfires. And then you throw in the fact that The Secret never got released in theaters stateside and it prepares you for the worst. But there's something about that intriguing cover, the one with Duchovny looking quizzical and Olivia Thirlby with a finger in front of her mouth. And there's the tagline - "Sometimes a gift can be a curse." People will be intrigued. And I'm here to tell you that you should be. The Secret is a consistent and heartfelt drama that features one of the more impressive actresses of her generation in Thirlby. She's simply stunning here and holds together what could have fallen apart in the hands of a lesser actress.

A mother (Lili Taylor) is driving on an icy road with her daughter (Thirby) when the two get in a horrible car accident. They lie in hospital beds next to each other. The mother wakes to see her daughter clinging to life. There can't be much more painful a sensation than waking in a hospital bed only to see your child in the one next to you. And then her daughter starts to go into cardiac arrest. The mother screams and reaches for her hand. They both die. But the daughter, Sam, miraculously returns to life but wakes up different. Imagine a dramatic version of Freaky Friday. A really dramatic version. Sam wakes up with the soul of her mother inside of her. Like the far inferior Birth or a more intensely serious version of Ghost, The Secret essentially plays with possession. Some have focused on the incestuous nature of the story - it naturally has to go there but it's handled tactfully - but those critics are missing the point of The Secret. It's a moving and intriguing story about the ties between mother and daughter through this life and beyond.

The Secret isn't perfect. The screenplay often hits its nails too hard on the head and the end is awfully abrupt. I liked the slow pace of the first act (pre-accident) and was hoping for a bit more set-up before diving into the existential pool. But after the dive, The Secret becomes an actor's showcase for Duchovny and Thirlby. David's good. Olivia's stunning. After her work in Juno, Snow Angels, and now this, I am fully convinced that she will become a household name in just a few years. Learn how to pronounce Thirlby. This is a daring, challenging, incredibly performance - the kind that deserved awards buzz, but The Secret never made it through the Hollywood machine to theaters. After Thirlby wins her Oscar for another film, audiences will find their way back to The Secret and like Jodie Foster's early movies or the teenage work of Kate Winslet, realize that this actress had the skills from a very young age.

The Blu-Ray release of The Secret only kind of "has the skills". Having been spoiled by other extras-heavy releases in recent weeks, I was really hoping for a bit more on this surprisingly good film. When a movie comes so completely out of nowhere like The Secret, it would be nice for the Blu-Ray release to provide more background information. Of course, it's understandable that a movie that didn't make it to theaters doesn't get a massively tricked out home release. But it is a shame that there's no commentary track for a movie that is very much worth talking about. I guess audiences will be left doing the talking.