LITTLE SECRETS
US, 2001, 96 minutes, Colour.
Evan Rachel Wood, Michael Angarano, David Gallagher, Vivica A. Fox.
Directed by Blair Treu.
Little Secrets is quite a pleasant film, targeted at a pre-adolescent audience as well as their families, Younger teenagers would probably enjoy it as well but the issues of the film are very much of children, pre-pubescent, although there is an attraction between Emily, played very well by Evan Rachel Wood (who was to have a substantial adult career) and David Gallagher, popular on television at the time. The other central character is a 12-year-old played by Michael Angarano (who was also to have a substantial adult career). Vivica A.Fox is a violin teacher.
Emily has a role in the neighbourhood with a little stand, open on Sundays, where the youngsters line up, almost like a confessional, where they confide their secrets and their mishaps to Emily who charges them 50 cents but then takes their broken pieces and other relics of accidents and misdemeanours and keeps them in a box, labelled. The kinds of secret she hears include the stealing of a cat, breaking crockery, going online pretending to be an older sister, stealing money for sweets…
Emily has her own secret. She is adopted but has not told anyone. However, her mother has become pregnant and Emily feels that she is being pushed aside. She is a talented violin player and is preparing a Mendelssohn piece for an audition.
Complications come with a family moving in next door, David (David Gallagher) attracted, going off to summer camp and becoming involved in a drunken car accident. His younger brother, Philip (Michael Angarano) is 12 and becomes a good friend to Emily.
Philip reveals the family secret about the accident to Emily who, for reasons which are later explained, is aghast at the news of the drinking and the smash. This leads to a revelation and a crisis – but a very good turn done by David and Philip and, after an accidental fall, the birth of her sister, her admitting that she was adopted, all is well.
1. A film for the family? For adolescents, pre-adolescents?
2. The American city, homes, streets, music lessons, concert halls? Mauls, street trams? Atmosphere? The musical score?
3. The title, the emphasis on people having secrets, needing secrets, not betraying confidences, the consequences of revealing secrets?
4. The cast, the young actors, attractive and convincing?
5. The focus on Emily, her age, her relationship to her parents, to her pregnant mother? The reality of her adoption but her not telling people? Her playing the violin, lessons with Pauline, playing at home, playing on the street? The range of pieces, Mendelssohn, the audition and Philip filming it? Playing Brahms Lullaby?
6. Her friends, their going to camp, the video messages? Their code greeting? Her encounter with David and his looking for the escalators? The meeting with Philip, burying the broken chess piece, their becoming friends, talking, his being 12? His learning the piano to play with her?
7. Emily, her stall for receiving secrets, the line of children, the various secrets, keeping broken pieces in bags with their name on? The girl taking the cats? The boy digging for China? The young girl on the Internet in place of her sister? The fat boy and his stealing money, eating? The fact that the children were all confident in telling her, her giving advice?
8. Her mother’s pregnancy, Emily feeling awkward, the mother telling the secret, going to the ultrasound? The father and his secret about not being confident?
9. The talks with Pauline, wanting to go to the concert? Pauline revealing the secret of her leaving the orchestra?
10. Emily and the phone call to Phillip’s parents, the story of the drink-driving, the accident, her hearing the secret, Philip wanting to know the meaning of their code, Emily upset, unable to relate to David?
11. The baby shower, Emily to play, revealing that she knew David’s secret, his being upset with Philip, her retreating to the room, falling from the window, hospital?
12. At the hospital, the mother giving birth? The truth about her parents being killed in an accident, the sentence for the perpetrator, David it is not knowing what to say, promising that it would never happen again?
13. Secrets, the question of whether Emily looked like the new baby when she was born and Emily revealing that she was adopted?
14. Emily closing the store, the children lined up, a change of heart, Philip helping her with all the refunds? Trying to give different advice, looking after the cat, the younger sister telling her older sister about the Internet and promising to find the boy, the little boy digging and finding the huge bones? Philip setting up his own rival stall?
15. Philip and David, Phillip’s idea with the tape he had made, taking it to the audition, her being accepted?
16. A pleasant moral fable with childhood issues that young audiences could identify with?
