Si j'étais toi

Even though his performance was decent for the most part, it was still horrible casting. Duchovny can do comedy and wit, but show emotion? Too forced Dave, too forced.

The Secret was a good surprise though. After a horrible car crash involving Benjamin Morris's (Duchovny) wife and daughter, the man becomes involved in a horrible occurrence. Turns out, that after dying, the spirit of the mother becomes trapped in the body of the reawakened daughter. Freaky Friday much?

The body swap idea that has been seen from time to time has been given a more mature approach here. The mother has to get an education that she didn't get, via her daughter's body; she also has to experience teenage angst, constant attacks by horny males, and the self realization that she is she, but she is not she. Ben believes her, but things get far more psychologically complex as the movie progresses. Thankfully, nobody asks advice from a priest (about damn time).

The script was well done, but what made it above average were the characters and situations that arose. Plot holes further hurt the movie, not to mention Duchovny's unconvincing portrayal as a father who EASILY gets aroused by her daughter's possessed body. Maybe it was because of the director (Vincent "Crow 2" Perez), or maybe it was because of both.

Now, Olivia. What a magnificent, tour-de-force performance you gave here. You did everything Dave didn't do- convince. People, better watch this one, she has a bright future ahead of her. Lilly Taylor gives a subtle performance here, almost too subtle. You forget about her the minute she stops showing up in the movie. Wait, what she in the movie?

Statement: The Secret is a huge surprise. Almost too huge. I expected a clichéd Dragonfly, but I got an intelligent viewing. Not to mention that this movie features one of the best performances of 2007 by the beautifully talented Olivia Thirlby. You can't expect much more than this I'm afraid, but you won't expect much by looking at the DVD cover.

6.7/10

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

Hiroshi Saitô's screenplay was reworked by Ann Cherkis to take place in America.

Hannah, the mom (Lili Taylor - "Six Feet Under") and her daughter Sam(Olivia Thirlby - Juno) are in a car accident and through some magic the soul of the mother is transferred to the daughter.

You can imagine the hilarity as Sam, who is now Hannah, but looks like Sam, returns to school as Sam (she is 16) and discovers that her daughter is smoking pot and having sex. Or, when she pops into her husband's office and sees him flirting with her guidance counselor.

Her husband/father (David Duchovny) doesn't know what to feel. He hers his wife, but sees his daughter. Now, that is messed up.

Thirlby was amazing in a dual role.

The ending was messed up.

The story is pretty contrived, but it's easy to look past that because it is more about the relationship between the characters instead of the mystery or whatever of a mother being trapped in her daughter's body. It's a film well worth watching for the superb performances from David Duchovny (who has quickly become a huge obsession of mine) and especially Olivia Thirlby who convincingly portrays this adult soul trapped in her teenage body. She was absolutely brilliant and will probably stay in at least my top ten by the end of the year. Even more impressive was the fact that this was actually her first role ever in film, just other stuff got released before it. The two of them were devastating together and worked so well, which is outstanding because of the age difference. They did a great job of moving seamlessly between such a wide range of emotions from sexual repression to jealousy to anger.

I was browsing movies in Wal-Mart and came upon the movie. I saw that David Duchovny was in it and naturally wanted to buy it. I did so and went home and watched the film. I myself am in no way into movies where people switch bodies. Whether it is Freaky Friday, or Its a Boy Girl Thing, Transference movies do not interest me. This is nothing like those. They do not switch bodies, but yet the mothers soul seems to migrate into the daughters.

The story itself i really enjoyed. You have a daughter in her teens rejecting her mother because it is not cool, at times wishing she wasn't her mother. It is when the mother goes into the daughters body that the movie begins to take shape. It was not the performance by David, but yet the performance by Olivia Thirlby that blew me away. This being one of her first movies, i was extremely shocked. She plays the mother/daughter character absolutely amazingly and i was really astonished at the job she was doing.

I recommend this movie. As said before, i myself am not into transference movies, but this one really got to me. I really felt for the characters in this film, and thought it ended quite beautifully. I usually do not write reviews, but i saw this one did not have any, and thought that i would write my own. This may not be the best review, but i am new at it. Please see the movie. It is quite enjoyable for those who give it a try.