This Review Reveals Minor Details About the Plot.
Secrets
Plot Overview
Peripatetic, substitute teacher Miss Mary Meadows (Katie
Holmes) considers it her destiny to be teaching a “low income,
racially mixed, bottom scoring, first grade class.” Her
schadenfreude supervisor wants her moving on from memorializing the
late teacher Mrs Dodd to her class. Her adoring student Heather (Ava
Kolker) promises to keep it a secret what she saw through the window of a
troubled diner Miss Meadows had entered on their field trip. Her
matchmaking neighbor Mrs. Davenport (Mary Kay Place)
suggests she, “not walk around the neighborhood in such lovely
outfits. You make yourself a target.” Her new boyfriend
Mike a county sheriff (James Badge Dale) upon getting the composite sketch
for the vigilante case he's working on, promises to bury it if she'll stop.
She's a stand-your-ground girl in a duty-to-retreat state, Ohio.
Her released
convict, felony child abuse, neighbor Skylar (Callan Mulvey) tells
her, “We're two peas in a pod. We have a lot in common.”
She retorts, “We have nothing in common!” He advises her
to see a therapist and soon. Her mother Meadows (Jean Smart) somehow
manages to have the same props on display (tea, blanket) as does Miss
Meadows in all their regular phone conversations, from identically
styled & colored phones, but that could be just a mixup in the
shooting notes. The phone also blares the disconnect tone
before they've hardly had a chance to hang up. Maybe Mrs Dodd
isn't the only one living on in memory. Skylar did manage to fix his
bicycle per his therapist's suggestion that he first help himself
before trying to help others. But Miss Meadows's garden is still a
“work in progress.”
Ideology
Polite Mary who'd be expected to leave any retribution for crimes
to the police grows up to be a vigilante set on homemade justice.
Furthermore, her law abiding boyfriend comes around to her
side. This transformation into avenging angels happens per,
(Prov. 30:33) “Surely the
churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose
bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth
strife.” A constant aggravation over time can change a state
of complacency to one of conflict like (liquid) milk changing to (solid)
butter upon being churned. An irritation to some critical area (like
the nose) can make it bleed. In this movie a shot to the carotid artery
spurts blood onto the shooter's pretty dress, and attach enough balloons
to the first grade tykes' get-well cards, and they will float up to
heaven from where Mrs. Dodd is watching them.
We soon come to realize there'd been some critical incident in Miss Meadows's past that warped her into the closet bad girl she is today. Eventually we're shown it in a flashback, and there's no mistaking its import. One need not be a therapist to figure it out. The sheriff on the trail of the vigilante privately admits that, “Part of me admires the guy.” See enough of his work and he'll suddenly become one himself.
Production Values
“” (2014) was written and directed by Karen Leigh Hopkins. It stars Katie Holmes, James Badge Dale and Callan Mulvey. (Holmes, at 36, is best remembered for having been married to Tom Cruise.) The performances by all were excellent especially Katie Holmes's who put out her best. The children were a knockout. The actors all had good chemistry together.
This film is not rated, but the violence while strong is not gruesome or frequent. There was no unnecessary skin exposure in the (two) sex scenes, nor was there any bad language, albeit some of it was corny. It's adult material despite the anti-heroine's “little girl- esque” attire and the idyllic residential setting. It's a well crafted movie that fits nicely into its 1½ hours. It was filmed in Cleveland on the shores of Lake Erie. Lessons in good speech and manners seem to be pertinent but not overbearing. The law is friendly.
Review Conclusion w/a Christian's Recommendation
“Miss Meadows”
came out a year after an abortive attempt in June, 2013 to legislate
a stand-your-ground law in Ohio—they'd have to try for another
decade or so to succeed. One early crime scene would show a pickup
truck stopped in the middle of the street, the driver bled out from
a small caliber, neck wound, holding an unfired .45 cocked revolver,
his passenger door open wide. It would be evident he tried to coerce
an armed pedestrian to get in, and she shot him. From his tight window
of coverage, she could easily have scampered away quicker than you
could say Jack Robinson, and he'd be more likely to attract attention
to himself if he shot than to hit his moving target. In a
courtroom after the fact, the prosecutor could make that a solid
case for the duty to retreat, but in the heat of the moment the threatened
girl might not be so sure. This movie plays into such controversies.
I delighted in the lead who was easy on the eyes and her speech easy on the ears, while her extreme actions were strangely inconsistent with her impeccable manners. It was an okay movie that left us free to make up our minds. This one is not forgettable. The church scenes were of a non-convert on a mission from God. She nailed the perverted priest and seduced a lapsed religious, putting them all in the sinful category per Catholic doctrine.
Movie Ratings
Action factor: Decent action scenes. Suitability for children: Not rated, ambiguous. Special effects: Average special effects. Video Occasion: Better than watching TV. Suspense: Keeps you on the edge of your seat. Overall movie rating: Four stars out of five.
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