The Secret (2007)
"Si j'étais toi" (original title)

A wife and mother passes away, and spirit returns in her daughter's body.

Director:

Vincent Perez

Writers:

Ann Cherkis (screenplay), Hiroshi Saitô,

Stars:

David Duchovny, Lili Taylor, Olivia Thirlby

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Duchovny	...	Dr. Benjamin Marris
Lili Taylor	...	Hannah Marris
Olivia Thirlby	...	Samantha Marris
Brendan Sexton III	...	Ethan
Jane Wheeler	...	Maggie Adams
Millie Tresierra	...	Lindsay Porter
Trisha LaFache	...	Taylor
Ashley Springer	...	Ian
Laurence Leboeuf	...	Amelia
Nicole Braber	...	Female Patient
Trent Pardy	...	Ski Shop Salesman
Julian Tassielli	...	ICU Dcctor
Babs Chula	...	Psychiatrist (as Babz Chula)
Joanna Noyes	...	Elizabeth - Hannah's Mother
Jay Brazeau	...	Doug Sullivan

Storyline

Husband, wife, and daughter have moved from Boston to Williamstown. At 16, Samantha treats her mother shabbily, but when the two of them are in a horrific car crash, the mother wills Sam to live, somehow losing her own life while her spirit enters Sam. Can she convince husband Ben that she's his wife inside his daughter's body, what if he believes her, and can she live Samantha's life (discovering all her daughter's secrets) while she figures out what to do? What's Ben's part in this secret life?

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Plot Keywords:

new life | loss of wife | high school | closing eyes of dead person | marijuana | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes a gift can be a curse

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including sexual references, and drug and alcohol use involving teens

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace [fr]

Country:

France Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 October 2007 (France)

Also Known As:

The Secret

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

EuropaCorp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min 92 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1) Dolby Digital (Dolby 2.0)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Samantha Marris: You've got a 36 year old wife in the perfect body of a 16 year old. I'm every man's wet dream.

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Connections

References Desperate Housewives (2004)

User Reviews

A superbly acted surprise. Very under the radar.

The story is pretty contrived, but it's easy to look past that because it is more about the relationship between the characters instead of the mystery or whatever of a mother being trapped in her daughter's body. It's a film well worth watching for the superb performances from David Duchovny (who has quickly become a huge obsession of mine) and especially Olivia Thirlby who convincingly portrays this adult soul trapped in her teenage body. She was absolutely brilliant and will probably stay in at least my top ten by the end of the year. Even more impressive was the fact that this was actually her first role ever in film, just other stuff got released before it. The two of them were devastating together and worked so well, which is outstanding because of the age difference. They did a great job of moving seamlessly between such a wide range of emotions from sexual repression to jealousy to anger.