Review of The Secret Life of Words (2005) by Paola G — 12 Jul 2007

"The Secret Life of Words" tells the story of the banal existance of a girl named Hannah (brilliantly played by Sarah Polley). We follow her short stint as a nurse to an oilrig worker who has had an accident, burning a reasonable amount of his body.

Sometimes quirky and sometimes extremely depressing, "The Secret Life of Words" develop a wallop of emotions that truly resonate, however only to be let down by an ending which I thought was way too storybook for a movie dealing with themes about... I'd rather leave it ambiguous, I guess.

The awesome thing about this movie are the actors, as they absolutely understand the plight of the characters. Polley, again needing a second mention, does not sensationalize but depicts her story with pain and an insane amount of dignity. Camara too, one person that truly lights up a screen, is also brilliant here (however, I am really really really disappointed that some of the supporting characters' stories were just plain redundant and/or there for some comedic relief -- granted, I wish that their characters were more fleshed out).

My big problem with this movie was that they explicitly added romantic tension between the main characters. I myself found it forced and 'unnatural' in a way because it was just odd. Clearly Tim Robbins and Sarah Polley does not have enough chemistry in that angle and I seriously cringed at the end. With that, I was really apprehensive about Tim Robbins' character's motives: does he really love her or does he only pity her? (Then a friend says: love is complicated. they have compassion and that was where it should begin (I'm paraphrasing here)).

You should see this movie for Sarah Polley. Stop watching the movie after that amazing scene with Julie Christie (I hoped they ended it there). And maybe imagine an ending a little less forced and more satisfying (maybe just Hannah smiling... that would have spoken *volumes*). That would have been a 4 1/2 stars in my book.