Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
Jonah Abbott
There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.
Curt
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
Caryl
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
shannoncallant
I stumbled across this film one night when I was looking for something different. Right from the start I found it compelling. The story revolves around Miranda, who quickly jumps into a fling with the charming and confident Brendan (masterfully played by David Tennant). Ten days later, when Brendan is letting himself into her apartment and digging through her diary, Miranda decides to end the relationship. Little does she know how far Brendan will go to get revenge. As he dates and then becomes engaged to her sister, Brendan quickly turns from creepy, to manipulative, to deadly.The movie was very enjoyable. It is exciting and suspenseful, not in a disgusting horror way, but certainly a way that leaves your muscles sore from tensing up. Brendan is clearly a master manipulator and his actions move slowly from malicious to cruel to dangerous. It was a very enjoyable film but it would have been forgettable if not for the ending. Most people talk about the surprise. It appears that Miranda is murdered by Brendan but it is all an elaborate set up to send Brendan to jail. But his is not what I found so compelling. The part that left me pondering late into the night was the number of assumptions I made throughout the film. As you see Brendan's true colors it is easy to imagine him as a mugger, a boy who killed his parents, a manipulator who caused the death of a teen, a thief, an abuser and a man who killed his wife.In the trial scene I remember hissing at the TV "GUILTY! Come on GUILTY!" I was surprised when it showed he was innocent but I was shocked when I realized that all his previous actions that led me to believe he was a killer were completely unproven. We have no proof that he manipulated Troy, no proof that he killed his parents, and no proof that he actually got married just to get back at Miranda and Carrie. I still can't decide if I think he killed Lara or screwed over his business partner. It was shocking to realize that with every unchallenged assumption, my judgment grew until I was crying at the TV to condemn an innocent man. Overall Secret Smile was a great film. The acting was very well done, the story was excellent and the filmmakers should be congratulated for being almost as manipulative as Brendan.
Chad Kinnair
I watched this 2 part Drama with my family and it was definitely the most disturbing drama I have ever seen. It is likely that I will ever watch this film again and I'm not prepared to let any of my friends see this. It is very disturbing yet fantastically written and Bloody Brill!The 2nd part was very sad. The woman does get raped, as I expected and there is a dramatic twist.*** DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANNA SPOILER! *** Well.... the ending, as I said, such a DRAMATIC twist. The victim of the rape and apparent 'Murder' goes to Australia while David Tennent (Actor of the weirdo :) has being found guilty at the Court. The police think she is dead but when the young woman's parents go to Australia they discover her, undercover! .... You need to watch it to get this!!!!HIGHLY Recommend :)
pigletgirlkp
When Miranda meets the tall and handsome Brendan through a friend and brings him home she doesn't expect the romance to lead to deception and murder. After a night of carnal bliss the seeming sweet Brendan becomes obsessed with Miranda and integrates himself into her life by seeking out and beginning a relationship with her sister Kerry. Miranda knows that Brendan is being vindictive and wants to protect her family and friends even if they don't believe her. She soon becomes equally obsessed with proving his guilt after people mysteriously die. Could Miranda be sealing her own fate or Brendans when she goes snooping into his life and finds a disturbing past? Kate Ashfield (Shaun of the Dead) gives a fantastic performance along side David Tennant's (Doctor Who) brilliant and convincingly psychotic one.
Theo Robertson
SECRET SMILE is a thriller that was sold to the TV public of having David Tennant as bad guy Brendan Block and to be totally honest I probably wouldn't have watched this if Tennant hadn't been cast as the tenth actor to play the title character in DOCTOR WHO so I was very interested in seeing how he'd play a villain In this type of thriller , much of the performance of the actor playing the villain makes or breaks the production , the whole story rests on one actor so do I think Tennant pulled it off ? Yes just about but not overwhelmingly . Tennant is good looking , though in a slightly effete way but I can see why he has a growing army of female fans falling over themselves to watch whatever he's in . Tennant plays Block just a little too hard edged and nasty a bit too early on . Wouldn't he have been more convincing if he smiled more and used some undoubted charm to woo characters into being on his side ? Sometimes Tennant plays Block a bit too obvious which led this viewer to wonder why characters were unable to see through his manipulation . Mind you Tennant gives a very good performance in comparison to Kate Ashfield who I thought was fairly wooden !!!!! SPOILERS !!!!! But the failings of SECRET SMILE is down to the story . I've never read Sean French's novel so I don't know how it compares to Kate Brooke's adaptation but I'm afraid it's somewhat silly . The first half of the story ( Episode one ) plays out as a lover scorned takes his revenge on the woman who jilted him and manipulates Miranda Cotton's brother into killing himself . Apparently the brother was a manic depressive and manic depressives when stressed stick their fingers in their ears and make wailing noises . I doubt if French or Brooke's are a psychiatrist so perhaps they should have read up on the condition before they committed the character to paper Things get worse in the second half of the story ( Episode two ) but remains highly watchable because of the utterly bizarre plot twists . After courting Miranda's sister Kerry Block then dumps her on their wedding day and marries Miranda's friend Laura instead who then turns up dead in a bath tub . After several more twists and turns that defy comprehension Block rapes Miranda and then murders her and dumps the body and is then given a life sentence for murder and there's a twist at the end which I could see coming a mile away . The end The twist is what SECRET SMILE will be remembered for and I fail to see how it could possibly work in real life . It all rests on Block turning up at Miranda's flat and accepting a glass of wine and the more you think about it the more things fall apart . What you mean you can emigrate to Australia without any references or without any checks being made . Don't the authorities do background checks and wouldn't they realise that the person you're claiming to be got drowned in a bath ? But I guess since he's going to be starring in DOCTOR WHO next year David Tennant had better get used to appearing in drama's with contrived endings . Bad Wolf anyone ?