A moderately effective supernatural drama/thriller, The Secret is hampered by a bizarre premise that lacks depth and a few last-minute missteps that leave the viewer feeling cold.
A loving couple (David Duchovny and Lili Taylor) love their daughter Samantha (Olivia Thirlby, "Juno") even though she definitely gets on their nerves quite often. While driving, mother and daughter get into an argument that leads to a brutal car crash, leaving both on the brink of death. As Samantha is about to die, her mother reaches out and somehow "transfers" her life into her daughter, killing her in the process. Or so they think. When Samantha wakes up though, she is actually the mother trapped in her daughter's body. This odd predicament obviously has Dad confused and otherwise befuddled, but he thinks it best for her to continue living their daughter's life as if everything is normal. It will be their little secret. Their hope is that the real Samantha will escape from whatever limbo she is in and return to her body.
The Secret really had its back against the wall with such an odd premise. The marketing materials compare it to "Ghost" and there are some similarities, what with the mother helping her daughter remain "alive" because of her own love and sacrifice. That said, The Secret is a lot creepier (in a weird, not good way). The source of much of its creepiness is Duchovny's characters complaints. He realizes that even though his wife is technically with him, because she is in the form of his daughter, he is unable to make love to her. That doesn't prevent his wife from coming onto him, even while in her daughter's body. Cue multiple scenes of a 16 year-old girl dancing and otherwise acting seductively towards a much older man. Even though director Vincent Perez smartly doesn't play up these scenes by going too far into the sordid material, they still are a detriment to the film because the tension hangs over every interaction between the two. Since there are multitude of such interactions, the tension is ever-present. What's worse, the pace of the film oftentimes slows to a crawl. The conclusion is fairly obvious from the start so there is no reason to prolong things but such inanities as a late-in-the-game plot gaffe that threatens to derail any sense of purpose the film had built up.
The performances are a mixed bag. Lili Taylor really doesn't have much to do as she is barely in the film. Duchovny is as wooden as ever, showing that all those years on "The X-Files" haven't improved his acting. Thirlby is best as she ably plays what is essentially two characters with aplomb, lending depth and grace to her role. She too though can't escape the ever-increasing stupidity of the plot.
The Secret isn't worth knowing.
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