Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Reno Rangan I never heard of it, but I found it accidentally and then decided to watch after learning it has a good cast. I mean not that they are the very popular ones right now in the Hollywood, maybe except Elizabeth Olsen, but awesomely played their roles. All the main four characters were very crucial throughout the narration. Like the title say, it was about a secret love affair between a young married woman and her handicapped husband's close friend. In between them, a mother of one of them played an important part in the story that brings a twist in the later part.An affair means, going any extent to achieve what they want for the permanent basis. But not all the affairs, but in this one it gets darker while the story progresses. One thing I liked very much was the tale never intended to label any of its characters as a villain. That balance was so brilliant, but I did not know that, so I always expected something very bad to happen and then, except in one scene which changes the course of the rest of the film. The cinematic feel is there, but it was more like in the real life event.No ones are evil and no ones are heroes, but everyone does all the good and bad things in their life and how serious those harmful acts, particularly how it destroys who are all involved in it was the film excellently told. It was based on the 150 years old French novel. It is also set in at the same time, I mean the 1860s, Paris. The recreation of the era was very good, but my only concern was the pace and the length of the film. Feels boring in some parts, other than that I got no issue with it. Having good actors with a decent direction, still it is like to belong in the B movie category. Though the overall effort from everyone was amazing and that's the reason you should watch it.6.5/10

SnoopyStyle Thérèse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen) is left by her father to live with his sister (Jessica Lange). Her hope of his return is lost when he's reported dead. She is pushed to marry her sickly cousin Camille (Tom Felton) by her domineering aunt. Camille finds a clerical job in Paris and the three of them move to the city. They buy a dusty shop and Thérèse is stuck behind the counters at the empty shop. She falls for Camille's new work friend Laurent (Oscar Isaac) who also paints. They quickly have an affair. However their secret affair is threatened when Camille decides to move back to the country.It's a rather dull costume drama for the first half hour. Everything is dim and cold. Olsen needs some more opportunity to do something. When she pretended to be a bear, it was a flash of something great. The movie seems to be filled with possible great moments that are quickly engulfed by the movie's overwhelming blackness and whispers. It's an old romance novel of corset ripping without any great charm.When the movie changes to a murder thriller, it picks up some energy but nothing that truly takes off. The prodding darkness keeps clawing it back to lifelessness. I never really fell in love with the couple. Lange is masterful at times but the movie is generally lifeless. It tries to be a nightmarish Hitchcockian thriller but director Charlie Stratton doesn't have the skills.

Vicki Hopkins Where do I start? Reviewing this melodramatic movie that leaves you dead at the end (no pun intended), is going to be a task. I can honestly classify it as the most depressing film I have seen in a long time. The story is apparently based on a writing by the name of "Thérèse Raquin," written in 1867 by Emile Zola.In short, the movie is about a young girl, who after her mother dies, is placed with her aunt and her sick, coughing cousin. Jessica Lange plays a controlling mother (Madame Raquin), who orchestrates Therese's life at every turn. Her father passes away, and Therese is left with a small annuity. No doubt for her own financial gain, she insists that Therese marry her cousin. Unfortunately, he is not appealing in personality or looks, while she on the other hand is attracted to handsome men and deals with an uncontrollable sex drive.When they relocate from the country to Paris, down a dark and dingy street to open a shop, Therese meets Laurent, a friend of the family. It doesn't take long for the two of them to fall into a lust-driven, sexual relationship that borders on the ridiculous as they meet in secret. Her domineering aunt has no idea that while she is tending the store below, her niece is copulating like a nymphomaniac upstairs in the room she shares with her son. Though you are led to believe it is love between the two, I frankly thought it bordered on physical obsession. Her lover knows how to control her need for him by pleasuring her at every turn, just as well as her aunt who manipulates her to do her bidding.As far as Therese's husband, played by Tom Felton, he is a boring and idiotic man, and a mama's boy. His relationship with his mother is frankly as sickly as his health (cough, cough), as his mother dominates and coddles him into adulthood.Laurent, as sexually driven as Therese, wants her all to himself. He suggests that they orchestrate an accident to do away with her husband. After all, accidents happen every day. Therese is hesitant to carry out the plan, but Laurent takes it to the end when the three of them go boating. He pushes her husband overboard, beats him with a paddle, and they watch him drown. Of course, they are dragged back to shore feigning a terrible boating accident wherein he loses his life. His body is recovered, buried, and no one is the wiser, except for one family friend who has her suspicions.Of course, after the murder and time passes, Laurent and Therese marry and live together with Madame Raquin at the shop. Their relationship turns sour very quickly, as guilt for murdering Camille and their debase personalities come to the forefront. In the meantime, Madame Raquin has a stroke, no doubt brought on by her excessive grief over her son's death, and is left unable to move or speak. As she is confined to a wheelchair, she discovers through their yelling fights with one another that they murdered her son.Well, where does this leave this sordid tale of dysfunctional family, adultery, lust, and whatever else you want to term it? It comes to an end where Therese and Laurent grow to hate each other so much they plot each other's demise. In the end, they both go mad as a hatter, and commit suicide in front of Madame Raquin, who finally obtains justice for her son's murder. The scene is no Romeo and Juliet moment, believe me. Instead, it is a sad commentary to two selfish people who committed a senseless murder that leads to no happy ending.As far as performances, Jessica Lange, I thought carried the insatiable grief about her son's death to a psychotic level. Whether it was the intention of her performance to do so because of the script, I have no idea. However, I thought it felt excessive. Elizabeth Olsen's portrayal, as well as Oscar Isaac's, as the colliding lovers (definitely not star-crossed lovers), were well done conveying the characters' crazy drive for sex and ultimate demise due to guilt that borders on lunacy.The setting overall, especially in Paris, is very dark and gloomy, which frankly mirrors the story. The costumes were mid-Victorian era and dull in color for the most part.If you like depressing, dark, and dramatic period movies that leave you feeling uninspired, this one is for you.

MartinHafer Thérèse Raquin is a very familiar tale from Émile Zola (1867) and it has been adapted to the stage many times as well movies. I counted at least 15 film versions of the story and they have been made in many languages— including French, German, Swedish, Italian, Spanish and English! In fact, the James M. Cain story The Postman Always Rings Twice (filmed in 1946 and 1981) is STRONGLY inspired by Zola's—so strongly that it's hard to imagine Cain having created his novel without first having read Zola's story or seen it on film. Obviously, Zola's story has touched a lot of people and has become a classic—and it's a wonderfully moving tale that is relatively timeless as the films have been set in many time periods from the mid-1800s to the present. But with so many versions out there, are we ready for yet another?Thérèse (Elizabeth Olsen) has led a rather pitiful life. When she was very young, she was dumped on her aunt and was raised by her. However, it was not an especially happy or loving home. Instead of being treated like a daughter or even a daughter, Thérèse has become almost like a servant. Much of her time has been spent taking care of her weak and sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton). And, after years of doing this, the aunt, Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange), insists that Thérèse marry Camille. This is certainly no great love match—more a way to guarantee that Camille will have a woman to care for him after Madame Raquin's death.After the marriage, the trio move to Paris and they open a small shop. Thérèse's days are spent tending the shop, her evenings are spent caring for Camille and during their free time, the three have friends over so that Camille and his mother can play dominoes. This is their life--very predictable, a bit dull and lacking in love. Not surprisingly, deep within Thérèse longs for something more—and it's easy to feel sorry for the young woman—especially since no one ever seems to worry about her needs.One day, Camille brings home an old friend, Laurent (Oscar Isaac). How the two are friends is difficult to imagine, as they are quite different. In contrast, Laurent is an artist and is much more outgoing and handsome. Soon, he and Thérèse become lovers. As time passes, they realize that they cannot go on like this—something has to give. Plus, Camille insists that the family move back to the country. But, instead of breaking up, the pair comes upon the idea of killing Camille! However, Camille is not a bad guy. He's inept as a husband, but he's also decent and really cares about his wife—and that is what makes the lovers' plan so reprehensible. However, I should point out that all this is relatively early in the film. What follows is an interesting psychological portrait of two people whose beastly actions are, ultimately, their undoing. How does all this play out? If you want to know, see this film—and I do strongly recommend you do.In Secret manages to tell Zola's story quite well. Although there apparently were quite a few changes in the cast according to IMDb (many folks dropped out or were replaced), the film comes off beautifully—not that it's a beautiful story, mind you! The acting is quite good, the mood (such as the music, colors and cinematography) are appropriately grim and the story has an extremely strong ending. Well worth seeing, but I must warn you that it's not what I would consider a pleasant story. Not surprisingly, I do NOT recommend this film to children! It is about adultery and murder and only the most insane parent would want their kids watching this! However, I think it's appropriate for teens and older, as it is definitely not some fluff piece glamorizing these behaviors but a well thought out story about human nature—particularly the worst aspects of it! This film is currently available on DVD as well as through Netflix. Also, an interesting note is that Jessica Lange starred in the 1980s remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice AND stars as Camille's mother in this film. She and the rest of the cast were excellent.