The previous review is grossly unfair. It's a reasonably good drama of its type, some normal people and a disruptive presence suddenly appears in their lives, how do they all react? Sure, some of US may have reacted differently and said different things, you could say that of any film or play! The police appear terminally dim? Well, goodness, that's hardly a novelty on film or TV either?! Tennant is suitably nasty as the evil presence, nicely persuasive and threatening when he can't quite get his own way. The parents are well-played, many people want to see the best side of friends and acquaintances, and the sisters are also good performances. There'd have been lots of different possible endings, go with the flow and see what the author chose!

I watched this 2 part Drama with my family and it was definitely the most disturbing drama I have ever seen. It is likely that I will ever watch this film again and I'm not prepared to let any of my friends see this. It is very disturbing yet fantastically written and Bloody Brill!The 2nd part was very sad. The woman does get raped, as I expected and there is a dramatic twist.*** DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU DON'T WANNA SPOILER! *** Well.... the ending, as I said, such a DRAMATIC twist. The victim of the rape and apparent 'Murder' goes to Australia while David Tennent (Actor of the weirdo :) has being found guilty at the Court. The police think she is dead but when the young woman's parents go to Australia they discover her, undercover! .... You need to watch it to get this!!!!HIGHLY Recommend :)

Miranda Cotton meets a guy; takes him home, bit of hanky-panky, they start to see each other. Just like any other relationship. But when she catches him reading her diary, she starts to get a bit worried, and asks him to leave.To her shock and terror, in a few months he has proposed to her sister.This piece really gripped me from start to finish. I curled up with a blanket and watched it - as a Doctor Who fan for many years, it's important to me that my Doctor is a good actor, and although I'd seen Tennant's acting before and loved it, I wanted to have a final test. I was certainly impressed. Secret Smile had a solid enough storyline that really terrified me in places, but it really was all down to the fabulous casting. Kate Ashfield (Miranda) had you on her side all the way through, conveying well what the emotions were - and Susannah Wise (Miranda's best friend, Laura) and her 'husband', James Daffern, despite having minor roles, impressed me beyond many of the other supporting cast.There was not a truly weak performance in the cast. If I had to pick a low point it would probably be Claire Goose, but I think that was just down to a bad character as opposed to the acting; the book's Kerry is considerably different, somehow, and I didn't find myself connecting with this one so powerfully.David Tennant was, however, the true highlight - he managed to convey Brendan's truly sadistic side with just a look - and yet still managed to have me feeling sorry for him when Miranda turned him away. 'That line' as it has become known - I won't write it, but suffice to say it's when he was thinking about her lips - was delivered with such a venom, that it physically made me shudder. A wonderful performance with immense presence. Also, kudos to Robert Lowe for a moving piece as Troy Cotton, even if his character was unbelievable.Altogether, 10/10 for acting, 7/10 for plot. Definitely worth a watch - I videoed it, and really enjoyed it.

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.