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Little Secrets
Columbia/Tri-Star // PG // February 4, 2003
List Price: $26.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Little Secrets" is an award-winning family film that seems like the exact definition of the kind of good-hearted family fare that most parents complain just isn't made anymore. On the other hand, is a film too pure and good (this film has a case of the cutes at times) less memorable? While I liked the characters, dialogue and performances of the film, I felt (and some may also) that there's just not much conflict, at least until the second half.
Evan Rachel Wood (who gave one of last year's finer supporting performances in a small role as Al Pacino's daughter in the little-seen "Simone") stars in the film as Emily Lindstrom, an aspiring violinist who actually runs a "Little Secrets" shop in her backyard. She actually maintains a solid business, as neighborhood children line up to pay 50 cents to tell her their secret and for her to lock it away or give advice.
Emily makes friends with 12-year-old Philip (Michael Angarano) and his 15-year-old brother David (David Gallagher of TV's "7th Heaven", which this film is a similar to), who move in next door, while also preparing for her concert and resenting the new baby on the way, as her parents aren't paying as much attention. There's also a few more dramatic issues (adoption) later in the film, as well as some light romance thrown in.
"Little Secrets" is carried by Wood's performance. As she displayed in "Simone", the actress portrays intelligence, kindness and heart superbly, while also showing the ability to understand how to play a quiet moment. She's a subtle, talented actress who I expect will go on to find herself in larger roles in larger films. Angarano and Gallagher lend fine support, but this is clearly Wood's showcase.
"Little Secrets", aside from a few issues, is clearly crafted to be family fare, but it will likely appeal more to younger teen girls who can be entertained by the Emily character. The film is rated PG, but only keeps from a G by some discussion about drinking and driving and a couple of other serious topics. While I found it a tad slow at times, it's still a fairly enjoyable family picture, with messages that aren't too forced and little in the way of objectionable material.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Little Secrets" is presented by Columbia/Tristar Home Video in both 1.33:1 full-frame and 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The anamorphic widescreen presentation is generally acceptable, but nothing too outstanding. Sharpness and detail are good, but inconsistent - the picture has a tendency to appear rather soft, with fine detail not always apparent.
The picture suffers further from some slight edge enhancement, which occasionally pops up, but never becomes too terribly noticable. Some mild compression artifacts occasionally appear in some dimly lit scenes, but most will also be able to look past this. The print used is fine, with no specks or marks on the print used.
The film's color palette is largely natural, with respectable color presentation; colors appeared fairly well-rendered - although a little soft and slightly smearing, most tones appeared crisp and warm. Flesh tones looked natural throughout the whole show, but black level seemed slightly lacking. A fairly good transfer, although it could have been better in some areas.
SOUND: "Little Secrets" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 by the studio. However, as one might expect, this is clearly a dialogue-driven soundtrack, with the occasional music being the only element that the surrounds, which are rarely used, offer. Audio quality was perfectly fine, as dialogue remained clear, as did the music. French/Spanish & Portuguese 2.0 tracks are also offered.
EXTRAS: The DVD includes a commentary from Director/Producer Blair Treu and Writer Jessica Barondes, along with a short featurette, blooper reel (which is actually pretty funny) and trailers for "Kermit's Swamp Years", "Little Secrets" and "Stuart Little 2". A pleasant surprise is that the CD soundtrack is also included. The commentary is an enjoyable affair, as the director and writer actually offer a very fine discussion of casting, screenplay development, production stories and challenges, as well as technical issues.
Final Thoughts: "Little Secrets" offers fine performances and a nice, pleasant story with a few dramatic issues woven in. The "secret shop" subplot never really went anywhere and the film seemed a little slow in the mid-section, but this is fine fare for younger teens. Columbia/Tristar's DVD is nice, offering fairly good audio/video, along with a solid set of supplements. Recommended.
"Little Secrets" is an award-winning family film that seems like the exact definition of the kind of good-hearted family fare that most parents complain just isn't made anymore. On the other hand, is a film too pure and good (this film has a case of the cutes at times) less memorable? While I liked the characters, dialogue and performances of the film, I felt (and some may also) that there's just not much conflict, at least until the second half.
Evan Rachel Wood (who gave one of last year's finer supporting performances in a small role as Al Pacino's daughter in the little-seen "Simone") stars in the film as Emily Lindstrom, an aspiring violinist who actually runs a "Little Secrets" shop in her backyard. She actually maintains a solid business, as neighborhood children line up to pay 50 cents to tell her their secret and for her to lock it away or give advice.
Emily makes friends with 12-year-old Philip (Michael Angarano) and his 15-year-old brother David (David Gallagher of TV's "7th Heaven", which this film is a similar to), who move in next door, while also preparing for her concert and resenting the new baby on the way, as her parents aren't paying as much attention. There's also a few more dramatic issues (adoption) later in the film, as well as some light romance thrown in.
"Little Secrets" is carried by Wood's performance. As she displayed in "Simone", the actress portrays intelligence, kindness and heart superbly, while also showing the ability to understand how to play a quiet moment. She's a subtle, talented actress who I expect will go on to find herself in larger roles in larger films. Angarano and Gallagher lend fine support, but this is clearly Wood's showcase.
"Little Secrets", aside from a few issues, is clearly crafted to be family fare, but it will likely appeal more to younger teen girls who can be entertained by the Emily character. The film is rated PG, but only keeps from a G by some discussion about drinking and driving and a couple of other serious topics. While I found it a tad slow at times, it's still a fairly enjoyable family picture, with messages that aren't too forced and little in the way of objectionable material.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Little Secrets" is presented by Columbia/Tristar Home Video in both 1.33:1 full-frame and 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The anamorphic widescreen presentation is generally acceptable, but nothing too outstanding. Sharpness and detail are good, but inconsistent - the picture has a tendency to appear rather soft, with fine detail not always apparent.
The picture suffers further from some slight edge enhancement, which occasionally pops up, but never becomes too terribly noticable. Some mild compression artifacts occasionally appear in some dimly lit scenes, but most will also be able to look past this. The print used is fine, with no specks or marks on the print used.
The film's color palette is largely natural, with respectable color presentation; colors appeared fairly well-rendered - although a little soft and slightly smearing, most tones appeared crisp and warm. Flesh tones looked natural throughout the whole show, but black level seemed slightly lacking. A fairly good transfer, although it could have been better in some areas.
SOUND: "Little Secrets" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 by the studio. However, as one might expect, this is clearly a dialogue-driven soundtrack, with the occasional music being the only element that the surrounds, which are rarely used, offer. Audio quality was perfectly fine, as dialogue remained clear, as did the music. French/Spanish & Portuguese 2.0 tracks are also offered.
EXTRAS: The DVD includes a commentary from Director/Producer Blair Treu and Writer Jessica Barondes, along with a short featurette, blooper reel (which is actually pretty funny) and trailers for "Kermit's Swamp Years", "Little Secrets" and "Stuart Little 2". A pleasant surprise is that the CD soundtrack is also included. The commentary is an enjoyable affair, as the director and writer actually offer a very fine discussion of casting, screenplay development, production stories and challenges, as well as technical issues.
Final Thoughts: "Little Secrets" offers fine performances and a nice, pleasant story with a few dramatic issues woven in. The "secret shop" subplot never really went anywhere and the film seemed a little slow in the mid-section, but this is fine fare for younger teens. Columbia/Tristar's DVD is nice, offering fairly good audio/video, along with a solid set of supplements. Recommended.
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