Le Secret

Slow moving and emotionally stunted drama, which has justifiably shared comparisons with Patrice Chereau's Intimacy. Anne Coesens plays Marie, a 35-year-old encyclopedia- saleswoman. On the surface, Marie has the perfect life - loving husband Francois (Michel Bompoil) and a two-year-old son. Things begin to go askew when she meets the charismatic Bill (Kandy Man's Tony Todd). Soon, in a bid to grasp her youth and vitality again, she's engaged in a sexual relationship with the ex-patriot American. As she gets deeper and deeper into the relationship, however, Marie's well-ordered world life appears to be on the brink of collapse. One of those films that seems far more interesting on paper than it does in reality, Le Secret's main failing is a lack of emotional complex. Characters almost seem to be viewed in an suspicious light by the director, leaving them little room to truly express themselves in a way that an audience can empathize with. Indeed, for a film whose characters speak so much of love, Le Secret lacks a real heart.