In Secret

Émile Zola's rather lurid Thérèse Raquin featured two staples of Romantic-era storytelling—an unhappily married woman who takes a self-destructive path, and the wages of crime. In this unimaginatively re-titled adaptation, Thérèse (Elizabeth Olsen) is left by her father with his sister, Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange), who marries the girl off to her sickly son, Camille (Tom Felton), to become his caretaker-for-life. The women open a fabric shop while Camille takes a job, where he meets old childhood chum Laurent (Oscar Isaac). Before long Thérèse and Laurent are engaged in a torrid affair, and eventually they conspire to kill Camille in order to be together. But it is Madame who owns the family property, and after she suffers a debilitating stroke the couple must serve as her caretakers. Matters take a turn for the worse when she learns that they murdered her son and she strains against her infirmity to accuse them publicly. Meanwhile, they grow ever more guilt-ridden and frustrated with their lot—and each other. In 1867, this was a shocking tale, and while in our less delicate age it hardly carries the same punch, its depiction of the unhappy condition of a woman in 19th-century society remains insightful. Writer-director Charlie Stratton treats the story with a fair degree of fidelity, but Olsen gives a blank, wide-eyed performance, and even though Lange adds color with her flamboyant, scenery-chewing supporting turn, the emptiness at the center leaves In Secret feeling more like dutiful translation than compelling drama. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by screenwriter-director Charlie Stratton and producers Pete Shilaimon and Mickey Liddell, deleted scenes (3 min.), trailers, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)