In Secret

Plot

In the lower echelons of 1860s Paris, Thérèse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen) is a sexually repressed beautiful young woman trapped in a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin, Camille (Tom Felton) having been forced into it by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange). Thérèse spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominoes with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband's alluring friend Laurent LeClaire (Oscar Isaac), she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences. Camille soon dies during an outing on the lake with Laurent and Therese, which is revealed to be their doing as Laurent physically beat Camille while he was in the water, causing him to drown. Madame Raquin finds it difficult to come to terms with her son's death and is incapacitated by a stroke. To escape being sentenced for murder, Laurent and Therese choose to take their own lives and they drink poison mixed with champagne, dying in front of Madame Raquin.

Cast

Casting

Kate Winslet was attached for a long time to star in the lead role of Thérèse Raquin. Jessica Biel then replaced her, with Gerard Butler as Laurent. In fall 2011, Elizabeth Olsen was announced as a replacement in the lead role. Glenn Close was originally cast as Madame Raquin, but dropped out and was replaced by Jessica Lange.

Filming

On May 9, 2012, principal photography began in Belgrade, Serbia and Budapest, Hungary.

Reception

In Secret received mixed reviews. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 47% rating, with an average score of 5.5/10, based on reviews from 64 critics. The consensus states: "Although it benefits from a strong cast, In Secret's stars can't totally compensate for the movie's sodden pacing and overly familiar story."

Despite mixed reviews, Lange's performance has received critical acclaim. Avi Offer from NYC Movie Guru proclaimed Lange as "...one of the greatest actresses of our time, [who] delivers a mesmerizing, magnificent performance and sinks her teeth into her role quite smoothly." David Lee Dallas from Slant Magazine called Lange's character's "latent severity dangerous and surprising." Michael O'Sullivan from The Washington Post noted that "Subtlety may not be this film's strong suit, but it certainly is Lange's." Dustin Putman of the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association felt Lange is "more achingly vulnerable than the figures she usually plays." Jessica Herdon of Associated Press added that Lange "...going from agonized to helpless, so poignantly that your heart breaks for her." Joshua Rothkopf from Time Out New York wrote: "...Jessica Lange, as rare as a unicorn these days, seizes on the role of a grieving mother with two taloned hands. If there are any tremors of shame to be felt here, they emanate from her." Odie Henderson praises Lange on her ability to "...[find] the perfect line of lunacy to toe, which In Secret requires for her character's arc..." Also, Emma Myers from Film Comment described her ability to "[maintain] a looming presence that shifts from despicable to sympathetic and back again." USA Today described her work as her "...most fully dimensional performance." Variety mentioned that Lange "...relishes what becomes the most dramatically potent role."