Secret Smile
Encyclopedia
Secret Smile is a drama
serial in two parts shown by ITV
in December 2005, based on the Nicci French
book of the same name, directed by Christopher Menaul
and starring David Tennant
, Claire Goose
and Kate Ashfield
.
) meets attractive and confident Brendan (David Tennant
), a seemingly harmless fling ensues. But her attempt at breaking it off with him leads to a passionate web of lies, deception and death.
A month later, Miranda is contacted by her sister Kerry, inviting her to meet her new boyfriend, who happens to be one of Miranda's exes. As she lists all the possibilities, Kerry reveals that she is dating Brendan Block, who then arrives and they proceed to have lunch. Miranda warns Brendan against hurting her sister, but Brendan replies that he is genuinely in love with Kerry.
As time passes, it becomes apparent to Miranda that Brendan is using his newfound engagement to her sister and increasingly close relationship with her family as a way of getting at her. With no proof, Miranda is forced to accept the fact that her family have become close to Brendan; in particular her younger, manic depressive brother Troy (Robert Daniel Lowe
). Miranda is cautious of their relationship, as Brendan seems to be having a good influence on Troy, making the rest of the family happy. When Troy commits suicide, Miranda's concerns about Brendan are strengthened. She believes Brendan's influence on her brother had pushed him into a suicidal state, although he appears very emotional at the funeral.
Nobody believes Miranda when she presents them with theories about Brendan, and she finds herself losing control over her family and her life as he continues to plan his wedding to Kerry. As Miranda is ordered to make peace with Brendan in order to keep a relationship with her family, she arrives at her family's home to realise that Brendan has dumped Kerry for her best friend, Laura.
After discovering that Laura and Brendan married in a shotgun wedding, time goes on without Miranda and the Blocks having any contact. Laura contacts Miranda, suggesting they talk. Miranda agrees and waits at a pub for her, but Brendan arrives and accuses her of meddling in his marriage. After an argument, Miranda leaves the pub and goes to check on Laura. When she reaches her house, Miranda discovers Laura's dead body in the bath tub. Brendan is suspected of killing his wife, but a conviction isn't made on the grounds of lack of concrete evidence.
When Laura's belongings are given to her by Brendan, Miranda discovers a number of overdue bills addressed to him, confirming her theories. Upon finding a letter from his estranged sister, Miranda becomes obsessed with proving Brendan's guilt. She tracks Brendan down, who by this time is living in an upper class apartment with a new girlfriend named Naomi.
Miranda attempts to warn Naomi about Brendan's violent and possessive nature, but she is thrown out by Brendan who had returned unexpectedly. He takes out an injunction on Miranda, accusing her of harassment and it is granted by the court. Receiving a call from Naomi shortly after, Miranda cautiously goes to the apartment not knowing it's a setup by Brendan in order to get her arrested. Naomi contacts Miranda from outside, telling her to leave, and Miranda narrowly escapes Brendan and the police. Meeting Naomi further down the road, she tells Miranda that Brendan became violent and she feared for her safety.
After deciding that Naomi would be safe staying with Kerry, Miranda returns to her flat to finish packing as she had recently sold her flat. That night Brendan arrives and angrily searches for Naomi, to no avail. Miranda coolly offers him a drink as she finishes packing, and they have a conversation about the last few months. Brendan admits that Miranda had pushed him into doing some things he wouldn't usually do, before proceeding to rape her in her living room before chasing her into the bathroom, where he admits he could never let her go. Miranda screams as he starts to attack her.
The next day, a colleague of Miranda's finds the flat in a state of disarray from the previous night, as well as copious amounts of blood and tape in the bathroom. Upon the conclusion that Miranda has been murdered, an investigation ensues; with Brendan as the prime suspect. He denies any involvement, only stating that he'd been there the night before, where they had consensual sex. Naomi, while packing her things, finds a set of bloodied keys in Brendan's suit pocket and hands it in to the police. Brendan is arrested for Miranda's murder and taken away.
Brendan is sentenced to life imprisonment, serving 22 years before applying for parole. He continues to deny committing the crime and as he looks up, the faces of Naomi and Miranda's family look down on him, satisfied as he is taken away. Six months later, Miranda's family receive three plane tickets from Naomi, asking them to come to Australia where she now resides. They reluctantly fly to Melbourne, as Naomi has also mentioned that they can stay with her. When they arrive, they meet Naomi at the airport and through the crowd of people walks Miranda.
A flashback explains that Miranda and Naomi planned to drug Brendan by slipping a pill into his glass the night he arrived at the flat. Naomi is shown drawing blood from Miranda, which Miranda then spreads around the bathroom after Brendan slips unconscious after the encounter in the bathroom. She drags Brendan into the bedroom and plants his fingerprints onto his set of keys which have been smeared with her blood. Then posing as Laura, Miranda flees England to Australia to stay with Naomi's parents until Brendan had been arrested.
After successfully putting Brendan away, effectively saving Naomi and herself, Miranda pauses to think about her brother Troy, who is the only person missing at the table where she and her family are happily eating.
on BBC America
as part of Mystery Mondays: Crimes of Passionhttp://www.bbcamerica.com/genre/movies_specials/secret_smile/secret_smile.jsp.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
serial in two parts shown by ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in December 2005, based on the Nicci French
Nicci French
Nicci French is the pseudonym of English husband-and-wife team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, who write psychological thrillers together.-Personal life:...
book of the same name, directed by Christopher Menaul
Christopher Menaul
Christopher Menaul is a British film, television director and television writer.Christopher Menaul left Cambridge with a First in History and quickly established anillustrious career as a multi award-winning TV and Feature film director...
and starring David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, Claire Goose
Claire Goose
Claire Goose is a British actress. She is best known for her role as nurse Tina Seabrook in the BBC television drama Casualty and later as DS Mel Silver in Waking the Dead.-Life and career:...
and Kate Ashfield
Kate Ashfield
Kate Ashfield is a British actress, best known for her award-winning roles as Jody in the Anglo-German film Late Night Shopping, as Sadie MacGregor in the British film This Little Life and as Liz in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead.-Biography:Ashfield was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
.
Overview
When Miranda (Kate AshfieldKate Ashfield
Kate Ashfield is a British actress, best known for her award-winning roles as Jody in the Anglo-German film Late Night Shopping, as Sadie MacGregor in the British film This Little Life and as Liz in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead.-Biography:Ashfield was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
) meets attractive and confident Brendan (David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
), a seemingly harmless fling ensues. But her attempt at breaking it off with him leads to a passionate web of lies, deception and death.
Plot summary
While attending her friend David's birthday party at an ice skating rink, Miranda Cotton meets the handsome Brendan Block. Ten days into their relationship, Miranda arrives home to find that Brendan has let himself in and has gone through her belongings (such as her teenage diary). Miranda promptly ends the relationship, causing Brendan to storm out of her flat after verbally abusing her.A month later, Miranda is contacted by her sister Kerry, inviting her to meet her new boyfriend, who happens to be one of Miranda's exes. As she lists all the possibilities, Kerry reveals that she is dating Brendan Block, who then arrives and they proceed to have lunch. Miranda warns Brendan against hurting her sister, but Brendan replies that he is genuinely in love with Kerry.
As time passes, it becomes apparent to Miranda that Brendan is using his newfound engagement to her sister and increasingly close relationship with her family as a way of getting at her. With no proof, Miranda is forced to accept the fact that her family have become close to Brendan; in particular her younger, manic depressive brother Troy (Robert Daniel Lowe
Robert Daniel Lowe
Robert Daniel Lowe is an English actor who has appeared in several stage, television and film roles. He is probably most noted for his portrayal of Troy Cotton in Secret Smile and as Jack Maitland in the third series of ITV's Primeval....
). Miranda is cautious of their relationship, as Brendan seems to be having a good influence on Troy, making the rest of the family happy. When Troy commits suicide, Miranda's concerns about Brendan are strengthened. She believes Brendan's influence on her brother had pushed him into a suicidal state, although he appears very emotional at the funeral.
Nobody believes Miranda when she presents them with theories about Brendan, and she finds herself losing control over her family and her life as he continues to plan his wedding to Kerry. As Miranda is ordered to make peace with Brendan in order to keep a relationship with her family, she arrives at her family's home to realise that Brendan has dumped Kerry for her best friend, Laura.
After discovering that Laura and Brendan married in a shotgun wedding, time goes on without Miranda and the Blocks having any contact. Laura contacts Miranda, suggesting they talk. Miranda agrees and waits at a pub for her, but Brendan arrives and accuses her of meddling in his marriage. After an argument, Miranda leaves the pub and goes to check on Laura. When she reaches her house, Miranda discovers Laura's dead body in the bath tub. Brendan is suspected of killing his wife, but a conviction isn't made on the grounds of lack of concrete evidence.
When Laura's belongings are given to her by Brendan, Miranda discovers a number of overdue bills addressed to him, confirming her theories. Upon finding a letter from his estranged sister, Miranda becomes obsessed with proving Brendan's guilt. She tracks Brendan down, who by this time is living in an upper class apartment with a new girlfriend named Naomi.
Miranda attempts to warn Naomi about Brendan's violent and possessive nature, but she is thrown out by Brendan who had returned unexpectedly. He takes out an injunction on Miranda, accusing her of harassment and it is granted by the court. Receiving a call from Naomi shortly after, Miranda cautiously goes to the apartment not knowing it's a setup by Brendan in order to get her arrested. Naomi contacts Miranda from outside, telling her to leave, and Miranda narrowly escapes Brendan and the police. Meeting Naomi further down the road, she tells Miranda that Brendan became violent and she feared for her safety.
After deciding that Naomi would be safe staying with Kerry, Miranda returns to her flat to finish packing as she had recently sold her flat. That night Brendan arrives and angrily searches for Naomi, to no avail. Miranda coolly offers him a drink as she finishes packing, and they have a conversation about the last few months. Brendan admits that Miranda had pushed him into doing some things he wouldn't usually do, before proceeding to rape her in her living room before chasing her into the bathroom, where he admits he could never let her go. Miranda screams as he starts to attack her.
The next day, a colleague of Miranda's finds the flat in a state of disarray from the previous night, as well as copious amounts of blood and tape in the bathroom. Upon the conclusion that Miranda has been murdered, an investigation ensues; with Brendan as the prime suspect. He denies any involvement, only stating that he'd been there the night before, where they had consensual sex. Naomi, while packing her things, finds a set of bloodied keys in Brendan's suit pocket and hands it in to the police. Brendan is arrested for Miranda's murder and taken away.
Brendan is sentenced to life imprisonment, serving 22 years before applying for parole. He continues to deny committing the crime and as he looks up, the faces of Naomi and Miranda's family look down on him, satisfied as he is taken away. Six months later, Miranda's family receive three plane tickets from Naomi, asking them to come to Australia where she now resides. They reluctantly fly to Melbourne, as Naomi has also mentioned that they can stay with her. When they arrive, they meet Naomi at the airport and through the crowd of people walks Miranda.
A flashback explains that Miranda and Naomi planned to drug Brendan by slipping a pill into his glass the night he arrived at the flat. Naomi is shown drawing blood from Miranda, which Miranda then spreads around the bathroom after Brendan slips unconscious after the encounter in the bathroom. She drags Brendan into the bedroom and plants his fingerprints onto his set of keys which have been smeared with her blood. Then posing as Laura, Miranda flees England to Australia to stay with Naomi's parents until Brendan had been arrested.
After successfully putting Brendan away, effectively saving Naomi and herself, Miranda pauses to think about her brother Troy, who is the only person missing at the table where she and her family are happily eating.
Cast
- Miranda Cotton — Kate AshfieldKate AshfieldKate Ashfield is a British actress, best known for her award-winning roles as Jody in the Anglo-German film Late Night Shopping, as Sadie MacGregor in the British film This Little Life and as Liz in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead.-Biography:Ashfield was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England...
- Brendan Block — David TennantDavid TennantDavid Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
- Kerry Cotton — Claire GooseClaire GooseClaire Goose is a British actress. She is best known for her role as nurse Tina Seabrook in the BBC television drama Casualty and later as DS Mel Silver in Waking the Dead.-Life and career:...
- Naomi Stone — Keira Malik
- Laura — Susannah Wise
- Troy Cotton — Robert Daniel LoweRobert Daniel LoweRobert Daniel Lowe is an English actor who has appeared in several stage, television and film roles. He is probably most noted for his portrayal of Troy Cotton in Secret Smile and as Jack Maitland in the third series of ITV's Primeval....
- Marcia Cotton — Jill Baker
- Derek Cotton — John Bowe
Broadcast
The serial was broadcast in the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on BBC America
BBC America
BBC America is an American television network, owned and operated by BBC Worldwide, and available on both cable and satellite.-History:The channel launched on March 29, 1998, broadcasting comedy, drama and lifestyle programs from BBC Television and other British television broadcasters like ITV and...
as part of Mystery Mondays: Crimes of Passionhttp://www.bbcamerica.com/genre/movies_specials/secret_smile/secret_smile.jsp.
External links
- Secret Smile at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
.