In Secret starring Elizabeth Olsen and Oscar Isaacs: Paris When it Sizzles

Coming up in the world of movies based on books on February 21st is the screen adaptation of Emile Zola's Therese Raquin. To appeal current moviegoers - especially those who weren't forced to read the book in college - the name has been changed to In Secret. It's a much more apt title anyway, teasing what's to come.


Here's how they're describing the storyline on imdb.

"Set in the lower echelons of 1860's Paris, Therse Raquin (Elizabeth Olsen), a sexually repressed beautiful young woman is trapped into a loveless marriage to her sickly cousin Camille (Tom Felton), by her domineering aunt, Madame Raquin (Jessica Lange). Therese spends her days confined behind the counter of a small shop and her evenings watching Madame play dominoes with an eclectic group. After she meets her husband's alluring friend, Laurent (Oscar Isaacs), she embarks on an illicit affair that leads to tragic consequences." 

I read the classic sometime back then and have a vague recollection of Therese's ennui and that she paid for her cheating ways, but don't quote me. As seems to be the constant case lately, the trailer (scroll below) gives away far too much. But it's a gorgeous sight to behold, with director Charlie Stratton and cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister (The Deep Blue Sea) using candlelight in painterly ways to achieve the dark and dusky period look of the interiors. With steamy chemistry between Olsen and Isaacs, there's also the thrilling undercurrent of desire and danger that I'm finding irresistible. 

Poor Tom Felton plays Therese's sickly husband Camille. I dig those crazy curls looking like they were slicked down with Dippity Do. 

If you have a thing for France - like my friend Paulita who loves France so much she can't stop dreaming of moving there and hosts the weekly Dreaming of France meme, you're going to want to put it on your cinema calendar. I can't wait!