GLArm This is a 3 part mini-series. I almost stopped watching after the first show because it was so annoying to expect viewers to believe that the main character was completely stupid, clueless, and spineless. If the makers could only have tightened up the plot to make it believable, this would have been excellent - good acting, interesting relationships, fine settings, etc.However, it is just so annoying to have a woman living alone who breaks it off with a really creepy guy who had the audacity to take a key to her flat and go through all her things to NOT change the locks. Or to not really explain to her sister why this guy is so creepy once sis starts dating him. Or to let the creep & her sister move into her flat with her.... and then to not lock either the bathroom door or her bedroom door when creep lives there. Or to not say anything when he completely rearranges her flat and takes half her clothes away. Etc, etc, etc. One thing this movie is good for: reminding everyone that there can be serious negative consequences to jumping into bed with someone you don't really know.

Theo Robertson SECRET SMILE is a thriller that was sold to the TV public of having David Tennant as bad guy Brendan Block and to be totally honest I probably wouldn't have watched this if Tennant hadn't been cast as the tenth actor to play the title character in DOCTOR WHO so I was very interested in seeing how he'd play a villain In this type of thriller , much of the performance of the actor playing the villain makes or breaks the production , the whole story rests on one actor so do I think Tennant pulled it off ? Yes just about but not overwhelmingly . Tennant is good looking , though in a slightly effete way but I can see why he has a growing army of female fans falling over themselves to watch whatever he's in . Tennant plays Block just a little too hard edged and nasty a bit too early on . Wouldn't he have been more convincing if he smiled more and used some undoubted charm to woo characters into being on his side ? Sometimes Tennant plays Block a bit too obvious which led this viewer to wonder why characters were unable to see through his manipulation . Mind you Tennant gives a very good performance in comparison to Kate Ashfield who I thought was fairly wooden !!!!! SPOILERS !!!!! But the failings of SECRET SMILE is down to the story . I've never read Sean French's novel so I don't know how it compares to Kate Brooke's adaptation but I'm afraid it's somewhat silly . The first half of the story ( Episode one ) plays out as a lover scorned takes his revenge on the woman who jilted him and manipulates Miranda Cotton's brother into killing himself . Apparently the brother was a manic depressive and manic depressives when stressed stick their fingers in their ears and make wailing noises . I doubt if French or Brooke's are a psychiatrist so perhaps they should have read up on the condition before they committed the character to paper Things get worse in the second half of the story ( Episode two ) but remains highly watchable because of the utterly bizarre plot twists . After courting Miranda's sister Kerry Block then dumps her on their wedding day and marries Miranda's friend Laura instead who then turns up dead in a bath tub . After several more twists and turns that defy comprehension Block rapes Miranda and then murders her and dumps the body and is then given a life sentence for murder and there's a twist at the end which I could see coming a mile away . The end The twist is what SECRET SMILE will be remembered for and I fail to see how it could possibly work in real life . It all rests on Block turning up at Miranda's flat and accepting a glass of wine and the more you think about it the more things fall apart . What you mean you can emigrate to Australia without any references or without any checks being made . Don't the authorities do background checks and wouldn't they realise that the person you're claiming to be got drowned in a bath ? But I guess since he's going to be starring in DOCTOR WHO next year David Tennant had better get used to appearing in drama's with contrived endings . Bad Wolf anyone ?

Jackson Booth-Millard Goodnight Mister Tom was brilliant, Footsteps in the Snow was a good biography, and this was another good ITV made-for-TV film. Basically Miranda Cotton (Kate Ashfield from Shaun of the Dead) one day meets a complete stranger and they have sex. After about ten days, she wants Brendan Block (Doctor Who's David Tennant) to leave. Then the next thing she knows, he's met and proposed to her sister, Kerry (Claire Goose). Soon after Brendan poisoning her life, Miranda's sister commits suicide when he believes that she doesn't care about him, says Brendan. Now worst of all, Brendan dumps Kerry for another woman, and now Miranda needs to warn her of what he's capable of. Then the unthinkable and horrible happens, he rapes Miranda. That then clinches it and Miranda and Kerry, oh, and the new girl, form a plan to put Brendan behind bars. This is the really good twist, that it looks like Miranda was dead, because of blood in bathroom and Brendan's fingerprints on her keys, but she was actually having a short holiday. Great idea! Anyway, this is a very good drama, the title obviously suggests his character. Very good!

Zuzus_petal I had the misfortune of missing the first part of this mini-drama. How foolish do I feel now? Incredibly. From what I have seen though, wow! Brief summary: woman dates man, woman dumps man, spurned lover tries to get his own back any way he can. I had previously seen David Tennant in Casanova and found him to have an irresistible charm.Tennant's television history as I know it was based in comedy and so I was intrigued to see him starring in a thriller.However, he did not fail to impress me in Secret Smile. His portrayal of a spurned lover hell bent on revenge was both captivating and chilling. One can see how charming he is but one constantly has to remind oneself about what he really is. The supporting cast are amazing. I did not think Claire Goose would be able to make the transition from soap acting in Casualty to such a serious drama. However, I was pleasantly surprised and her role showed how easily people can be controlled and manipulated. Furthermore, I admit I was not enamoured with Kate Ashfield until now. You were with her every step of the way, feeling her anger and frustration. It is not very often that such a suspenseful drama that actually holds you to your seat comes along. Television nowadays has become highly predictable but I am pleased to say that this was not. It was a superbly acted and directed piece. Best performance must go to Tennant. He was able to capture and exemplify how easy it is to dominate one person and how deep an impact that it can have.This is highly prevalent in a society where stalking and domestic violence remains taboo. I was afraid that Tennant would lose his edge with going to mainstream television, but if this is anything to go by, I had nothing to worry about.