In Secret *** (2013, Elizabeth Olsen, Oscar Isaac, Jessica Lange, Tom Felton) – Movie Review

Elizabeth Olsen stars in this intense, well-acted film of Emile Zola’s 1867 tragic romance as the sexually repressed beautiful young tragic heroine Therese Raquin. Jessica Lange co-stars as her domineering aunt Madame Raquin, who traps into a loveless marriage with her sickly son, Therese’s cousin Camille (Tom Felton).

Stuck behind the counter of a small 1860s Paris shop with Madame by day, Therese is forced to her evenings watching Madame and Camille play dominoes with their friends, a ghastly, arguing couple (Matt Lucas, Shirley Henderson), the creepy Grivet (Mackenzie Crook) and a chilly police inspector (John Kavanagh).

But, then along comes the alluring Laurent (Oscar Isaac), her husband’s friend, who dangerously awakens passion, desire and sexuality in her, as they start a torrid illicit affair, with of course terrible consequences, for this is the Victorian era where such behaviour must be punished, and in the most extreme way.

The performances are all excellent, as you’d hope for, and indeed expect, with Lange outstanding in a tour-de-force, and Isaac catching the attention big time by providing another variant of his dangerous charmer act. Charlie Stratton’s screenplay is a highly effective one. It may have helped him a lot dialogue-wise that it’s based on a play version by Neal Bell, as the dialogue is very credible and convincing and doesn’t cause the actors any worries. On the contrary, it gives them lots of moments big and small to score.

The Americans all speak with fair English accents to keep in with the Brit cast members, Guatemalan-born, Miami-raised Isaac coming off best in that department. Henderson manages to raise some helpful laughter, and Lucas is surprisingly effective. Olsen’s good, and Felton is ideal, but they understandably have a bit of trouble keeping up with Isaac, let alone Lange.

With atmospheric, imaginative cinematography by Florian Hoffmeister and a good-looking period production by designer Uli Hanisch, the film has a nice visual style. Gabriel Yared’s score is a helpful asset.

In Secret is engrossing, playing out like a murder thriller, and taken at a gripping pace by first-time director Charlie Stratton, with some especially gripping highlight scenes to captivate audiences.

It’s obviously very old fashioned, how could it not be, but it’s a bit of a quite little winner. The one mistake is the generic title. OK if they felt they couldn’t call it Therese Raquin, but something better than this is needed.

Principal photography took place in Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary, in 2012.

Kate Winslet was to star as Thérèse, Jessica Biel then replaced her, with Gerard Butler as her Laurent. In 2011, Olsen was announced. Glenn Close was cast as Madame but dropped out.

On April 29 2014, Isaac was announced as a cast member for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII.

(C) Derek Winnert 2014 Film Review

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more film reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/