The Secret

I sincerely wish I wouldn't throw 2 hours of my life, on this awful piece of sound and motion, they dared to call a movie.

The only normal thing is the acting of the husband (Michel Bompoil) and the black lover(Tony Todd), which is good.

Everything else is just bad. The script is half baked and repetitive at times. Directing is more suitable to "B" movies.

During the movie I just waited for it to end, and the only reason I kept watching is my hope for something extraordinary at the end, but the end is even worse the the rest of the movie.

I give it 1.5 out of 5.

I do not usually comment on movies, but this one was so wrong, that considering its rating I must warn others to stay away.

i think the movie wisely displays the act of betraying a husband, without commenting it too much. it explains with little hints how passion (and essential thoughts coming with the act) take over the life of the protagonist. with that parallel relationship she finds the time to see what she needs, what the physical contacts really mean for her, so it helped me to understand a bit more of the mind of such persons. contrary to another comment, i for myself don't think it's really unrealistic, but the movie just shows how secretive people go through deep private experiences, and while they do so, they'll eventually clash with people who, if they're normally open and talkative and get confronted with this, turn into anxious, unsure and possessive partners in such relationships. the movie is a bit light though on that aspect, it's a bit shallow overall on psychology and it will depend on your own thoughts and considerations after to fill it in in a way, on that side.

Noone gave positive response for the ending?

Can anyone explain what happened and whom she choose?

Marie, trim bordering on skeletal, is married to only slightly dull François, who wants a 2nd child, (Marie doesn't but doesn't know why) (the 2 year old son comes up with some of the best acting in the film - how do they get them to do it?).

In the course of her work as an encyclopaedia sales person (echoes of Paper Moon) Marie meets Bill, a big black American who lives alone in a villa and seemingly never goes out.

She is simultaneously intrigued and put off by his large direct presence. Gradually the intrigue wins and she overtly seduces him (echoes of Belle du Jour). Mind blowing, graphic, complicated and frequent sex ensues.

It seems as though what Marie is getting from the relationship is more important to her than her husband (desolate), child (confused and weepy) or invalid mother (disapproving, though at least seems to show a flicker of understanding when Marie explains the attraction of sex with Bill being that Bill "invades" her).

The story fairly bowls along and Ann Coesens (Marie) is riveting throughout. The best acting in the course of sex I have ever seen.

The sex is not at all pornographic, actually - although pretty graphic, it serves to explore Marie's motivation rather than titillate.

Bill is something of a cypher: the figure of Temptation. Marie is given much more space to develop than any of the other characters - but Cousens' performance fills the screen.

Recommended.

The 3 stars I give this are for the performances - little else is worthy of respect. The direction and cinematography are completely flat, and the script is a mixed bag.

Where the film really falls apart though is in the behaviour of the central character. We begin with a woman who has apparently spent 12 years happily married (at least the couple appear happy at the start of the film), and who remained faithful during that time, save one brief kiss with a neighbour. She begins an affair with a man she meets whilst working, and instantly becomes an entirely new character - one that feels no guilt or sympathy towards her husband, in fact who seems to actively seek to humiliate him, and who almost allows her child to fall to its death. No explanation for this U turn into an amoral narcissist is even hinted at, and the character's own explanation consists of little more than a brief burst of existentialist waffle at the end of the film. Ultimately, the character is completely unbelievable, as her actions are irreconcilable with her history.