Movie review: Sharing the Secret

You would think that with a yucky cold and calling in sick yesterday, I would have been tossing out movie reviews like there’s no tomorrow. After all, all I’ve been doing is killing time and sitting on the couch the last two days. Unfortunately, I’ve kept my eyes more on pointless TV in a semi-dazed stare instead of the computer because my attention span has not allowed me to concentrate on anything whatsoever. This is more due to the mood stabilizer (Depakote ER) I have been on, but the cold certainly hasn’t helped with my motivation.

But to hell with all of that. I am at least motivated enough to try today, so here goes. Today’s review is for Sharing the Secret, a personal favorite. Click the link and watch the movie on YouTube first if you don’t want spoilers!

What I like about this movie:

• Finally, a movie about bulimia!
• I LOVE the intro. The images are so intoxicating, sucking you right in.
• I love the subtle details that give away what is going on if you’re not aware of the plot beforehand - things like Beth cooking breakfast for her mom, Beth’s seamless excuse for the disappearance of all the Chinese food, etc. Very nicely integrated.
• “I’m not growing up.” As stereotypical as this concept is, it is important to note that Beth is probably afraid of maturing. She is fast approaching a complex world with horrible problems and few solutions. The realization of this is daunting for her, but she can’t ignore her awareness. It feeds into her bulimia as the movie progresses.
• I really like the scene between Beth and her dad about whether she’s happy or not. She responds that she’s fine, and he says, “I didn’t ask you if you were fine. I asked you if you were happy.” Beth’s response is so indicative of her people-pleaser mentality. Those of us that do this ourselves understand how much meaning is packed into this one little scene.
• And, as a people pleaser, Beth’s descent from holding everything together to making it all fall apart eventually happens to anyone who does this. If you are not happy, you can’t make others happy. You will eventually resent those you are putting before your own needs, and that is exactly what happens to Beth.
• Another people-pleaser indication: Beth is very good at distracting herself and others from problems she’d rather not discuss. She’s also apologetic for things she needn’t apologize for.
• It’s nice that Beth’s friends realized the seriousness of Beth’s disorder. You would expect 14-year-olds to “share the secret” and point and laugh as they did in the beginning, but it didn’t stop there. It’s about time kids at this age got some credit in cheesy TV movies.
• Note to makeup artists: Take a look at Beth’s face just before she passes out in the school hallway. This is how you do eating disordered pale.
• The entire scene where Beth confesses her bulimia to her mother makes this movie a gem. It is so spot-on. The way Beth says “It’s not about you!” is filled with so much emotion, and the crying afterward, crying at the loss of the one thing she had to cope with her world….damn, I think we’ve all been there and know what that feels like.
• This movie doesn’t skimp on the process of treatment.

What I don’t like about this movie:

• This is yet another ED movie about a teenage girl who takes ballet and has rocky relations with her parents. What else is new?
• Beth purges pretty damn quickly in the school bathroom. Sorry, but I don’t think that’s realistic.
• The conversation between Nina and the therapist was reminiscent of those stupid commercials for medications where “side effects may include….” and “talk to your doctor about…” are a part of regular conversation. A movie as well-done as this one really didn’t have to say outright that eating disorders are not about getting skinny.
• The ending always feels a bit off when I watch this movie. Why end there?

Possible triggers:

• “Fat talk” amongst Beth’s friends.
• Beth teaches one of her friends how to purge.
• Markings on Beth’s knuckles from purging, otherwise known as “ Russell’s Sign.”
• Beth purges in front of her mother.

Hilarious details:

• Ha ha! Beth’s mom drives a vehicle with wood paneling. My sister and I have a joke about calling these vehicles “woodies,” so this makes the immature side of me laugh.
• Edward is the most perfect, awkward junior-high boy.
• The Sinead O’Connor look-alike who is running and having a smoke at the same time. *headslap*
• The junior high rhetoric in this movie could have been very lame, but instead it is a perfect reflection of what junior high kids talk about. Totally awesome.
• I always laugh when the therapist takes a ginormous sip of her milkshake just before she leaves. Must be for those brittle bones she has.

Other commentary:

• Um, Nina (Beth’s mom) is eating only a can of tuna for dinner? WTF?
• I love how seventh grade seems a world away from eighth grade to Beth’s friends. As I recall, this perception is not inaccurate.
• Gee, Beth must have some rich friends. Melanie’s house is freakin’ huge.
• The scene between Beth and her date at the party: awk-ward!
• “I wonder how adults can be so stupid.” At Beth’s age, I felt the same way. How could adults fuck things up so much in their lives? Now at 27, I still wonder this.
• If you were Beth’s school counselor, would you have trusted her to tell her mom about the bulimia?
• The bulimia jokes on the TV: lamest pieces of shit EVER.
• WTF is with the radio show that’s in the background while Beth is at that outdoor shopping area? Why is it there? Am I missing some symbolism here?
• I would never have the courage to puke in front of my mother.
• I really didn’t like Irene until the end of this film, when she’s talking to Nina about Beth. Turns out, she’s not just a glamorous trophy wife - she’s a glamorous trophy wife with insight.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5. I think this is one of the best-made films on eating disorders ever. The story does not exaggerate for “shock value,” nor does it portray eating disorders in a glamorous light - quite the opposite, actually. This movie is very real when it comes to the portrayal of Beth’s descent from the “pefect girl” to the wreck she becomes as bulimia takes over her life. It doesn’t hurt that the acting is superb, and I can’t help but re-mention the fact that this movie doesn’t skip the issue of treatment. So many other films do this, so not only was it refreshing just to see something about treatment at all, but it was nice that the movie covered some ground about what treatment is like.