Sharing the Secret (2000)

A teenage girl who feels she must always seem happy for her parents and friends secretly binges and purges.

Director:

Katt Shea

Writer:

Lauren Currier

Stars:

Mare Winningham, Alison Lohman, Lawrence Monoson

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mare Winningham	...	Dr. Nina Moss
Alison Lohman	...	Beth Moss
Lawrence Monoson	...	Phil Paige
Mary Crosby	...	Irene
Diane Ladd	...	Nina's Mother
Tim Matheson	...	John Moss
Camryn Grimes	...	Rachel
Brighton Hertford	...	Sophia
Kady Cole
Julius Ritter	...	Edward
Irina Gasanova	...	Ballet Teacher (as Arina Gasanova)
Roxana Brusso	...	Kerri Gold, Beth's Therapist
Khadijah Karriem	...	School Counselor
Dean Shelton	...	Greg
Kathy Christopherson	...	Gail

Storyline

A teenage girl who feels she must always seem happy for her parents and friends secretly binges and purges.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | mother daughter relationship | eating disorder | bulimia

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 May 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le secret

Company Credits

Production Co:

Nightstar Productions, Robert Greenwald Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Only Human"
Written and Performed by Diana Lorden

User Reviews

Surprisingly accurate and smart (for a TV movie)

This was surprisingly intelligent for a TV movie, and quite true to my own experience of bulimia. It was actually well-researched, and I can only assume it was written by someone who's gone through a similar experience, because it had all the little details. The characters were quite well-drawn, and the performances by Mare Winningham and Alison Lohman were great. I think what I like most was that they made them specific and smart, and there was no dumbing down of the reasons for Beth's bulimia (it wasn't some "diet gone out of control, caused by the pressures placed on girls by the media, pressures we're not actually going to address..."). Her mother wasn't completely clueless - too often on television they'll take an issue that EVERYONE has some awareness of and try to tell us that their protagonists are the last remaining people on earth who don't ("Diabetes? What's that? Oh, my world is all askew, doctor, please explain it all to me as if I'm a small child", etc). It was brilliant that her mother was a psychologist and even she didn't see the signs. And the scenes where Beth was throwing up weren't OVERLY melodramatic and sensationalist, and concentrated more on bulimics' need for secrecy, and their out-of-controlness. The scene where Beth tells her mother she's bulimic would've made me cry if there hadn't been other people in the room.

Okay, so I liked those bits. What didn't work for me so well was the ending, which headed back to the TV movie territory we know and don't particularly love, but I guess they had to wrap it up. "You, too, can cure your child's eating disorder, if you have lots and lots of money and live in America..."

And can I just say again that I really like Mare Winningham. She's great.