Secret Cutting

great movie...not a subject I knew much about, but it was very intriguing...much better than the standard made for tv movie...great performance by Kimberlee Peterson. I hope she'll be onscreen a lot more.

I saw this movie a couple of months back so I am trying to remember the main parts of it. Most people, and almost everybody that has already commented on it seems to hate it. I however, thought that it was a good idea with a strong script.

Not the best TV movie I have ever seen, not even close, but good none the less. What I can remember is that the main character was played by a somewhat believable actress. Believable of how she acted on her psychotic tendencies to destroy her body, and how she handled the humiliation from her classmates. I thought that this character was well designed. The actor/actress who play the parents of the teenager were also good but lacked somewhat of parental control. Their inability to deal with their daughter's problem seems to make me laugh a little.

While this film has a good script to back up a good problem that most people deal with, it does lack some interesting parts. Let's hear it for USA who had the courage to put something like this on their channel. It was good for a popular problem to be exposed on TV but it carried out with parts that almost made me fall asleep at times. Finally, a movie that shows the actuality of what could happen when urges take over life.

As a couple of people have said, I have to agree that the ending was a tremendous let down. It ended with a lot of questions unanswered. A lot of questions that I had. "Secret Cutting" is a good TV movie but it could have been shortened. Considering that this is what really happens to people, I was amazed by it.

Since the dawn of time, or at least since Hamlet, the existence of self-destructive behavior has been clearly recorded. What's funny is that it has historically been shown in a glamorous way, whether we're talking about Hamlet's cool early-Elizabethan Emo attitude, or Humphrey Bogart's suave whiskey-swilling alcoholism in Casablanca, or Batman's heroic death wish. Literature loves psychologically damaged heroes. But the real world often treats this sort of behavior with contempt, and that's what "Painful Secrets" depicts.

Doesn't matter who you are, every person has known some feeling of self-harm, whether it's literally cutting like in this movie or smoking cigarettes or eating a triple fudge brownie against your doctor's orders. Obviously this movie takes it a bit further than triple fudge brownies. Written by Steven Levenkron, a respected psychotherapist who has been studying disorders like anorexia since the 1970s, "Painful Secrets" takes an informed approach to the tricky subject of self-mutilation.

This is the story of a teenage girl whose dysfunctional family and social awkwardness lead her to cut herself, ironically, to control her pain. No, she doesn't do it for an orgasmic high like some people might think self-mutilation is about (that would be masochism); in this case she does it as a coping mechanism when her anxiety gets out of control. Not so different from the workout junkie at the gym who bench presses 350 lbs to feel the burn, "cutting" we learn is about physical control. The film assumes that you have some familiarity with the subject so it doesn't waste much time introducing the premise. Also don't expect a tidy Hollywood ending because something like this doesn't have any tidy Hollywood endings. Instead, this film delivers a very realistic story raising more questions than answers.

Being a USA Network TV production, it does have a certain polished "ABC afterschool special" feel, but not annoyingly so. In fact the glossy exterior works to its advantage later in the film when things get suddenly more intense and raw. I was impressed to see that the film didn't pull any punches in the last half. Although there is no explicit gore & sexuality on screen, the implications are pretty clear.

"Painful Secrets" doesn't claim to tell the story of every troubled teen, but it does a pretty good job of hitting the common issues that accompany the phenomenon of self-injury. In particular: alienation from society (no friends), bullying in school and conflicts at home. It's the home life that I found to be very well done. Nothing cartoonish like some Cinderella wicked stepmom, but much more subtle and insidious: a mother whose own fear of blame leads her to unintentionally heap guilt on her daughter. And perhaps more frighteningly common in American homes: a failing marriage that is secretly absorbed by the children (note to fighting parents: you can NOT hide it from your kids, they're smarter than you are).

The acting is very believable, with powerful moments from each major character: the girl (played by Kimberlee Peterson, known for The West Wing and Boston Public), the mother (played by Sean Young from the 80s thriller "No Way Out"), the father (played by Robert Wisden who has many TV credits from The X-Files to Stargate SG1 to Battlestar Galactica), and of course the therapist (played by Rhea Perlman from Cheers) who doesn't actually have a lot of screen time but plays each scene with the perfect amount of delicacy.

Regardless of subject matter, I'm a fan of films that force the audience to work. I never found the story to be dull or predictable. It kept my mind working from start to finish. Despite all outward appearances of being a made-for-TV-movie, this is one of the most unusual of the lot, at times with an indie feel like "The Squid and the Whale" (another great film about a troubled teen with a lousy home life). "Painful Secrets" gets bonus points for being the only movie I've heard of that boldly tackles the issue of self-harm. Another good film to consider is "Archie's Final Project" a somewhat light-hearted (though respectful) film about teen suicide, or if you're not afraid of experimental indie flicks check out "The Tracey Fragments" with Ellen Page playing a 15-year-old girl who runs away from home following a horrible event.

I'm positive some people identified with this movie, therefore it deserves defending. The things people complained about or said were unrealistic, well maybe to some yes, but to others it is a shocking view of their world.

I thought certain things, the flaws as others have called them, were the most realistic parts. The "angst-ridden" teen, the stand offish parents, the drama of her loneliness, these are real.

Life really can be like that for people, especially teenagers. No, not all, probably not even most. But I have seen them. It is not difficult for someone so young to fall into a world of self loathing and self destructive behavior, whether it be drugs, sex, or a more complex issue like bulimia or cutting.

High school can be wicked, and not everyone has the ability to "develop a thick skin." Kids that have few or no real friends can feel very isolated, even with "normal" supportive parents.

As for the clueless parents, they just seem human to me. People do get confused, hide their emotions and do all the wrong things. Often, parents have unresolved issues that are hidden even to themselves. These issues often effect how they handle situations such as these.

Yes, you do have to read a lot into this movie. But a movie that spells it all out for you is a documentary, not a drama. Thought provoking films have much hidden depth, as this one did. A valiant effort for a TV movie I should think.

Oh, one more thing I'd like to offer my viewpoint on. I didn't think she looked orgasmic after her cutting. I thought she looked numb, like her pain was quiet. I have to agree with whomever called it an addiction. One can have many ways of masquerading control over life. This is just one on a list of thousands.

I have a loved one who has engaged in this type of activity. This movie was both painful and insightful to watch. Having lived through all of the emotions and feelings of the parents and friends, it was strange to realize that this condition is much more common than I had ever imagined. It was also a strong impetus to show this movie to my loved one and help them through the issues, as much as I could. It has been a long time since anything else has happened, and I believe that this movie had a bit of an impact.

The acting is a little stilted/scripted, and the story is a bit predictable, but the power of the story is still there. This is a dangerous, disfiguring, and potentially debilitating condition, and if this movie helped one person, or saved one life, it was worth it. If anyone knows of or loves someone who repeatedly harms themself, this movie is a must see, and I applaud the producers, crew, and cast, as well as the USA Network for providing insight into what is a very scary, but very important issue.