Miranda Cotton meets a guy; takes him home, bit of hanky-panky, they start to see each other. Just like any other relationship. But when she catches him reading her diary, she starts to get a bit worried, and asks him to leave.
To her shock and terror, in a few months he has proposed to her sister.
This piece really gripped me from start to finish. I curled up with a blanket and watched it - as a Doctor Who fan for many years, it's important to me that my Doctor is a good actor, and although I'd seen Tennant's acting before and loved it, I wanted to have a final test. I was certainly impressed. Secret Smile had a solid enough storyline that really terrified me in places, but it really was all down to the fabulous casting. Kate Ashfield (Miranda) had you on her side all the way through, conveying well what the emotions were - and Susannah Wise (Miranda's best friend, Laura) and her 'husband', James Daffern, despite having minor roles, impressed me beyond many of the other supporting cast.
There was not a truly weak performance in the cast. If I had to pick a low point it would probably be Claire Goose, but I think that was just down to a bad character as opposed to the acting; the book's Kerry is considerably different, somehow, and I didn't find myself connecting with this one so powerfully.
David Tennant was, however, the true highlight - he managed to convey Brendan's truly sadistic side with just a look - and yet still managed to have me feeling sorry for him when Miranda turned him away. 'That line' as it has become known - I won't write it, but suffice to say it's when he was thinking about her lips - was delivered with such a venom, that it physically made me shudder. A wonderful performance with immense presence. Also, kudos to Robert Lowe for a moving piece as Troy Cotton, even if his character was unbelievable.
Altogether, 10/10 for acting, 7/10 for plot. Definitely worth a watch - I videoed it, and really enjoyed it.
To her shock and terror, in a few months he has proposed to her sister.
This piece really gripped me from start to finish. I curled up with a blanket and watched it - as a Doctor Who fan for many years, it's important to me that my Doctor is a good actor, and although I'd seen Tennant's acting before and loved it, I wanted to have a final test. I was certainly impressed. Secret Smile had a solid enough storyline that really terrified me in places, but it really was all down to the fabulous casting. Kate Ashfield (Miranda) had you on her side all the way through, conveying well what the emotions were - and Susannah Wise (Miranda's best friend, Laura) and her 'husband', James Daffern, despite having minor roles, impressed me beyond many of the other supporting cast.
There was not a truly weak performance in the cast. If I had to pick a low point it would probably be Claire Goose, but I think that was just down to a bad character as opposed to the acting; the book's Kerry is considerably different, somehow, and I didn't find myself connecting with this one so powerfully.
David Tennant was, however, the true highlight - he managed to convey Brendan's truly sadistic side with just a look - and yet still managed to have me feeling sorry for him when Miranda turned him away. 'That line' as it has become known - I won't write it, but suffice to say it's when he was thinking about her lips - was delivered with such a venom, that it physically made me shudder. A wonderful performance with immense presence. Also, kudos to Robert Lowe for a moving piece as Troy Cotton, even if his character was unbelievable.
Altogether, 10/10 for acting, 7/10 for plot. Definitely worth a watch - I videoed it, and really enjoyed it.