The Secret (DVD, 2008)

About half way through this movie, I had to take a break because I wanted to soak in all that had happened in the first 7 chapters of the disk. Even still, I'm really torn as to what points of this movie were more powerful.

The tragedy of the mother dying and the trauma that pursued was probably enough to make a tragic screenplay and movie out of, but the daughter waking up and suffering from some unknown freakish personality disorder and the father becoming totally disillusioned about it was almost too hard to stomach.

I'm not saying it was hard to believe that she became dispossessed with her mother's spirit. However, I will say, it being the daughter makes it a very uncomfortable situation knowing perhaps what zany outcomes this could lead to since this is a father-daughter thing. Even Duchovny's character finds it completely weird, but seems to press along regardless, since he loves his daughter and seems very compassionate towards her.

The relationship element and emotional trauma element was certainly believable and David Duchovny did and excellent rendition of a concerned and devastated father.

The Secret - as It finally dawned on me, has a much deeper meaning than just the secret of her illness. To me, the secret was, simply put, the way people push and pull one another closer and farther away when love and pain is involved. "Love Hurts" is totally a real expression. We express love in various ways, but when people die within a family, sometimes new roles and pecking orders between people change. Roles in this movie become more tense when the daughter (mother) began rejecting her father (husband) and trying to remove herself from her life and started trying to fit in at school and peer pressure points later in the movie.

The only thing that I would say I would have done differently about this movie would have been to spend a bit more time on the front end developing the mother's character. This would have given the audience viewing the daughter's emotions more background about the mother's soul, thus making the spiritual possession a bit more believable. I could actually fathom the soul going into someone or something else. I call this Soul Coughing, but the movie called it a personality disorder or post traumatic stress disorder. The father could have been a bit more angry at times and at best a bit more tempermental. If it were my daughter that had this illness, I wouldn't try and keep it a secret. I would have had her committed to a mental health center.

Overall, I'm going to give this movie a 5/5 because I'm looking forward to watching this movie again sometime in the future and perhaps maybe feeling totally different about it next time around.

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A typical American family of three Benjamin (David Duchovny - The X Files) Hannah (Lili Taylor) and their teenage, rebellious daughter Samantha (Olivia Thirlby).

A terrible accident sends both Hannah and Samantha to the ICU where Hannah dies of her injuries, but not before awakening to lock arms with Samantha.

What follows is the story of the love and live of a father and his daughter and the 'secret" they keep about the their mother.

The story is very original, although it is not that difficult to figure out where the story is going. However the acting is very good and the story keeps you involved.

I rate this movie a 4 of 5 for its originality and a strong acting performance by all involved.

I love David Duchovny and this particular story based on the everyday life of a family living together and suffering a great lost had me animated. The acting of all characters was superb as well as the beautiful set surroundings that I loved completely. A recommended see for all.

Features actors: David Duchovny, Lili Taylor, Olivia Thirlby.
Hannah & Benjamin knew they were soulmates since the day they met.They are married with a daughter named Samantha.Samantha is a regular teenager who is a bit rebelious and talks back to her mom.One day the mom and the daughter were driving and got into an argument when the mom looked up it was too late and she swerved to miss the truck in the other lane and the car flipped over from the fresh ice on the road.At the hospital benjamin sees his wife & daughter in critical condition, when his wife moves her eyes, he tells her she was in an accident, when she sees her daughter she starts to scream her name and holds her hand.Hannah then collapses and dies shortly after. When Samantha wakes up and asks where Sam is, the doctors say it is post tramatic stress, that she thinks she is her mom Sam's body.When "Sam" says things to Benjamin that only Hannah would know Benjamin starts to wonder if he is going crazy or if it really is Hannah talking to him in Sam's body.Hannah & Benjamin learn more about their daughter, and try to bring her back to her body.In a miraculous way Hannah & Sam have crossed paths in a twist of fate.Has a very good ending on this movie!
Special features on the dvd with interviews with the main actors & behind the scenes.
Would definitely recommend to buy or rent!Once you watch it one time you will want to watch it again!