reiher@ucla-cs.UUCP (05/15/85)
"Secret Places", a British film, comes from the Whitman's
Sampler school of filmmaking. It has one of everything, or more
precisely, one example of almost every dramatic situation which
could possibly arise from its premise. The story concerns two
girls at a British school during WWII. One is secure and popu-
lar. The other is a German refugee, which makes her position un-
comfortable. The film concerns their friendship and troubles.
As befits a British film, it is subdued and pretty. The British
have had difficulty working up much cinematic excitement lately
over events less momentous than the Cambodian self-genocide and
Gandhi's struggle against the British. ("The Company of Wolves"
being a notable exception.) "Secret Places" could profitably
have been less polite.
That aside, "Secret Places" is professional and generally
enjoyable. It offers the still unusual chance to see a woman's
cinematic view of being a girl. If Zelda Barron's views were
more original, I might find this a more interesting novelty.
What she says has been said before, sometimes worse, sometimes
better. It is a bit of a surprise that her viewpoint of girls'
adolescence is little different from that of the less crass male
filmmakers. Perhaps my surprise says more about me than about
Barron.
"Secret Places" depends strongly on a handsome production.
The photography, by Peter MacDonald, is very pretty, as is much
of the English countryside scenary. Period detail is also excel-
lent. Michel Legrand provides an unexceptional score with some
romantic overtones. Since Hammer stopped making cheap Gothic
horror films, almost all British films which reach America have
been notable for meticulous production values. Those of "Secret
Places" are not outstanding among recent films, but are used to
good effect.
The other hallmark of recent British films is fine acting.
Britain has always had a fortunate plague of fine actors, but
previously their training better suited most of them for stage
work, rather than films. The new generation of British actors
and actresses is very comfortable on film. "Secret Places"
features a largely unknown, predominately female cast of first
rate performers. The film doesn't have a bad performance in it,
evidenced by the fact that one can easily believe that each actor
really is the character portrayed. This is the great advantage
of using actors with little exposure. Since they don't carry a
career-full of past roles into the film with them, they can merge
seamlessly into the characters, providing, of course, that they
are talented enough. The performers in "Secret Places" are amply
talented. The leading roles belong to Marie-Theres Relin, as the
young refugee, and Tara MacGowran as the British girl. Relin has
an air of supressed sorrow, even in her happiest moments, which
is perfectly suited to the part of an adolescent girl torn from
her homeland and forced to live among strangers who hate and fear
her countrymen. MacGowran slightly resembles Vanessa Redgrave,
though she carries with her more innocence than Redgrave could
ever muster and far less rage. She is not a conventional beauty,
which may be one sign of the influence of a female director, but
her intelligence and kindness give her a radiance which makes the
bimbos of teen lust movies look pallid. The supporting cast is
fine. Jenny Agutter, the only familiar face in the cast, plays a
rather brief and insignificant role, suggestive of drastic cut-
tings in the editing process.
"Secret Places'" greatest failing is that writer/director
Zelda Barron, perhaps fearing that she might never get another
chance to direct a film, tried to cram everything she could think
of to say about a girl's adolescence into one film. The result,
of course, is a lack of focus. One might compare it to one of
those European tours which offer 12 countries in 10 days. "Over
there we have the jealousy over a boy, to the left is blossoming
sexuality, if you look carefully to the right you can see lesbian
tendencies, and coming up ahead is an insane relative. Don't
blink now, or you might miss the divided loyalties." And so on.
Had Barron chosen one or two of these (and several other) topics
to concentrate on, her film might have been truly moving rather
than merely enjoyable. It would have been possible to make a
film whose intention was to present adolescence as a time of many
conflicting forces and problems, with the focus being on the ter-
rible confusion of dealing with all of them at once. Barron,
however, tends to present them serially and offers little comment
on their interrelationship. ("Secret Places" is based on a novel
by Janice Elliot. Perhaps all the threads were better woven in
the book.)
Barron's direction also lacks focus, but she performs well
on a scene by scene basis. She doesn't offer a particularly no-
ticeable style of direction, yet she can achieve some nice ef-
fects at times. Her handling of the material certainly indicates
that she is thoroughly professional, but she would be well ad-
vised to choose a script with a strong central story for her next
film.
"Secret Places" is one of those films that you will probably
like if a brief description of it appeals to you. If you are
uncertain, its supporting virtues will probably ensure that you
do not regret seeing it. On the other hand, if you prefer ac-
tion, adventure, and comedy in your films, "Secret Places" is not
sufficiently special to command your attention. I fear that
"Secret Places", already hampered by the necessity of an art
house release in these times when high concept rules the major
screens, is doomed to a brief life in the theaters. It is a
shame that small pictures with a few virtues are destined to be
outgrossed by nasty revenge films and witless action epics. If
this viewpoint strikes a chord within you, I urge you to keep
your eye out for films like "Secret Places" (others coming out
soon are "My First Wife" and "The Return of the Soldier"). If
enough people go to them, more such films will be made. If not,
fewer. Sometimes it is wise to remember that your ticket money
is your ballot in the selection of what films you will see in the
future.
--
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
soon to be reiher@LOCUS.UCLA.EDA
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher