Movie Reviews, Uncategorized

Review: ‘The Secrets We Keep’ Intense Drama That Keeps Reveal Close to the Chest

What would you do if the person who you believed to have hurt you years ago moved into your neighborhood? That is the dilemma Noomi Rapace’s Maja is in throughout The Secrets We Keep. Maja is a Romanian woman who has immigrated to America. She’s settled down with an American, Lewis (Chris Messina), and has a child in a nice suburban home. Unlike some thrillers that would take its time getting to the meat of the story, The Secrets We Keep starts with Maja hearing a whistle that she’s heard before. After this encounter and hearing a voice in a store, Maja concludes that the man she’s been seeing (Thomas – played by Joel Kinnaman) is a former Nazi soldier who killed her sister. And tortured her.

What Would You Do If Your Neighbor Was a Nazi?

The Secrets We Keep is incredibly intense. Rapace is always a great actress and she really flexes her skills in this film. Rapace was really able to convey the conflicted emotions of a woman so sure of an evil deed done by a man, but having doubt cast upon her at every turn. Messina was really good in his role as Maja’s husband. A man who loves his wife and realizes she needs help, but also questions the morality of Maja having kidnapped Thomas. There were many tense moments between the two and both took turns in being the other’s emotional support – even when they were falling apart themselves.

At the epicenter of the entire movie was Kinnaman as Thomas. The whole time you’re thinking to yourself ‘is he Maja’s torturer’ or ‘did Maja get it wrong? Is he just a Swiss national living with his family’? In a previous interview, Kinnaman described this role as his most demanding one yet. He certainly portrayed that in The Secrets We Keep. Kinnaman spends most of the film tied up. Begging Rapace’s character to believe him when he says he is not the Nazi that hurt her. Is he telling the truth? You will have to watch to find out.