Little Secrets DVD

Little Secrets is a delightful cautionary tale about modern childhood. Blair Treu's film manages to be reassuring about the reality of a world in which kids are perceived to grow up too quickly, without patronising them about the scale and scope of the problems that preoccupy them. At 14, Emily (Evan Rachel Wood) has it all mapped out. Wise beyond her years, she is a musical prodigy who also runs a neat sideline keeping the secrets of the neighbourhood children for a small fee: broken china, kittens hidden in the bedroom, money stolen from dad's wallet to buy his own... birthday present. These enjoyable scenes owe a huge debt to Peanuts. But Emily has a secret of her own, and over one cataclysmic summer the burden of this and all the others she is keeping on behalf of her friends becomes insupportable. Moralising is kept to a minimum as events resolve themselves in a dramatic way and saccharine levels are modest thanks to the determinedly unsentimental performances of Wood, David Gallagher and Michael Angarano. All told this is a pleasing family film of some quality. On the DVD: Little Secrets might be a small film, but it has a big picture feel, enhanced by the anamorphic widescreen presentation and a super-clear Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Extras include a good director's commentary in which Treu stresses the childish truths that make the story so touching, a short making-of documentary and a not particularly funny blooper reel. --Piers Ford [show more]

Read More