Dangerous Secrets: A bit of a dusty affair

If you enjoy movies where people sit in drawing rooms and look troubled for eighty minutes, Dangerous Secrets is exactly what you are looking for. If you prefer things to actually happen, or if you find the idea of 'polite' romantic tension a bit of a snooze, you should probably skip this one. It feels like a stage play that forgot to leave the house.

Jim Wyndham is the kind of guy who thinks he can just hop on a boat, go to India, and come back to find everything exactly how he left it. Spoiler: he can't. Helen Norwood, meanwhile, has moved on and married a professor. The professor is older, which is the movie's way of telling us he is 'serious' and 'safe' and probably a bit boring. It is the classic setup. You know the drill.

There is a lot of staring. Like, a lot of it. Paul Lukas manages to make the professor feel like a real human, which is a bit of a miracle given how thin the dialogue is. He has this way of looking over his spectacles that says, 'I know what you are doing, and I am very tired of it.' It is the best part of the film, honestly.

The Vibe

• People standing in hallways.
• People sitting on couches.
• People looking out of windows as if the solution to their marriage problems is hidden in the garden.

The pacing is a bit of a struggle. Sometimes the scenes just sort of... evaporate. There is no real bite to the arguments, even when there should be. It feels like they were all afraid to raise their voices. It reminded me a little of the stiff energy in The Unwelcome Mrs. Hatch, though that one had a bit more punch to its melodrama.

It is not a bad movie, but it is definitely a 'background noise' movie. You could step out to make a sandwich, come back, and still be totally caught up on the plot. Sometimes that is exactly what you want on a Tuesday night. Sometimes you want more. This film is clearly happy just being fine. It does not try to change the world, which I sort of respect.

Anyway, if you like the classics, you might find something here to enjoy. Just don't go in expecting fireworks. It is all tea, secrets, and a lot of very well-tailored jackets. ☕