Secret Things Movie Review:


There's an intriguing tone to this clever French drama that draws us in as the story develops. Unfortunately, a wildly pretentious style and almost offensively misogynistic tone completely puts us off again.

Sandrine (Seyvecou) works as a barmaid in a gentlemen's club, admiring the skills of star stripper Nathalie (Revel). After they're both sacked, Nathalie educates Sandrine in the ways of teasing and tormenting men ... in public. Then they both get jobs at a big corporation and set specific goals for their sex games--to seduce their way up the ladder to the playboy heir (Deville) at the top. But they're not certainly ready for what they find.

For a tale of manipulation and sexual politics centring on two female characters, this film is shockingly chauvinistic. Brisseau clearly loves getting his actresses to sensuously writhe naked, preferably together. His plot appears to be a Liaisons Dangereuses-like tale of a woman's power to get what she wants. But Brisseau simply can't conceal his (or society's) objectification of women; the central duo are at the mercy of their emotions and the men around them, claiming that "love is the enemy, love can wait", but clearly only looking for a man to protect them. And the plot keeps them as vulnerable as possible.

Seyvecou and Revel are very good in fairly difficult roles, and Mirmont is excellent as a married man Sandrine targets. Deville is a strong presence in his more stereotypical role as the evil, callous womaniser, but he struggles when things turn arch and rather preposterous at the end. The characters are all intriguing and involving, but Brisseau seems determined to make them into either unlikeable villains or pathetic tragic figures.

Brisseau's filmmaking style is artful and clever--both the writing and direction--so it's a pity when he begins to wallow in corny moralising and operatic excesses. By the time the film rambles to its conclusion at the ludicrous wedding "reception", we feel like we've been dragged through one of his voyeuristic fantasies. And all of his anti-male posturing doesn't fool us one bit.



Rich Cline

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