day 56 - The Secret

OK film fans, it's a Friday night and I'm feeling kind of drained. As such, I'm not really up for lengthy dissections of plot structure and subtext analysis. Actually, for the first time since I've started this little project I'm not really in the mood to talk about film at all. But that's part of the experiment as well I guess, so let's see if I can suck it up.

The Secret is a bizarre drama/psychological/supernatural thriller made with all the skill of an afternoon special. For some reason French hack actor/director Vincent Perez decided to remake the Japanese film Himitsu, a small film taking a unique look at the "Freaky Friday" effect, aka the parent/child switcheroo. Of course, as with most Japanese films, nothing is every that sweet.

Dr. Benjamin Harris (David Duchovny) and his wife Hannah (Lili Taylor) are a deeply in love middle-aged couple with a rebellious 16 year old daughter who dotes on her father and fights incessantly with her mother. Samantha (Olivia Thirlby, the best friend in Juno) has pulled away from her parents since they moved from Boston to a small town whose name I didn't care enough to remember, enveloping herself in the rebellious cocoon of film cliches, dark clothes, a hoodie, her iPod and some nefarious duchebaggy friends. While Hannah is driving with Samantha she tries to engage her daughter in attempt to find out how she is doing since they never talk anymore, mid conversation the two are side swiped by a passing vehicle.

Benjamin arrives at the hospital to find both his wife and daughter unconscious. Now, I'm normally a fan of Duchovny's understated acting and while it hasn't always been good (the X-files films) he seemed to really hit his stride with the wonderful Showtime series Californication (Season 1 is a revelation). But for the life of me I can't understand why he took part in this film, especially since it has one of his most wooden performances. The same can be said for Lili Taylor, for an indie icon this is a bizarre choice. I can only imagine the screenplay must have intrigued them because it sure as hell wasn't the opportunity to work with Perez. This hack couldn't direct his own head out of his ass let alone a film with the potential given here.

And there is a great deal of potential within this script. Hannah regains consciousness shortly after Benjamin arrives only to witness her daughter flatline. In a supernatural twist, we get a new variation on the body swap theme. Hannah somehow finds herself in Sam's body, but Sam has not leapt to Hannah's body, in fact she seems to be gone entirely. Hannah's body is buried but she is able to convince her husband that his wife is alive, trapped in their daughter's body. Once Benjamin realizes the truth, he makes a library trip so we can get a montage and some exposition on what might have happened. He explains to Hannah that Sam may be lying dormant within her own body and they should keep her life intact, preserving it as best they can for her return. Of course when that happens, its curtains for Hannah.

As you may have guessed I was underwhelmed by this film. l will give the film kudos for two decisions. The first is the casting of Thirlby. This film came out the same year she appeared in Juno and while it's a much smaller film, here she's the star. Easily giving the best performance in the film, she portrays convincingly a 36 year old woman trapped in a 16 year old body, unsure of how to act in her place and hurt by the discovery of who her daughter was behind the locked bedroom door. There's a surprising depth to her performance and to the examination of what is normally treated as comedic fodder.

The second is the way the script handles what it would mean to be in the body of your child, dealing with the emotional nightmare of adolescence while uncovering the secret teenager no parent is ever really aware of, either by choice or deceit. It's handled realistically, albeit without much flair, but it's more than can be said for the rest of the script. Film is a director's medium, the actors, lighting, wardrobe and the rest are his paints and the film his canvas. With small films, indie and the like, you don't always get everything your film needs to thrive. Unfortunately with this film instead of a getting a Picasso, a Matisse or even Max Beckmann we get dogs playing poker on black velvet.