The Secret Life of Words | Rotten Tomatoes

The Secret Life of Words

Released Dec 16, 2005

1h 52m

Drama

List

69%

Tomatometer

39 Reviews

86%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

A solitary nurse (Sarah Polley) bonds with a badly burned patient (Tim Robbins) who survived an accident on an oil rig.

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Critics Consensus

The Secret Life of Words is a slow, mannered drama, but with a revelatory and powerful ending that rewards the patient viewer.

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Melissa Anderson

Time Out

Rated: 2/6

Sep 22, 2007

Full Review

Frank Scheck

Hollywood Reporter

The claustrophobic and artificial atmosphere of the setting is unfortunately matched by the equally artificial drama.

Dec 30, 2006

Full Review

Ella Taylor

L.A. Weekly

What pleasure there is to be wrung from the exceptionally banal The Secret Life of Words lies in the harsh, unforgiving beauty (lyrically shot by Jean-Claude Larrieu) and wonderfully strange social life of the isolated rig.

Dec 22, 2006

Full Review

Jean-François Vandeuren

Panorama

Un parcours vers une existence un peu plus normale que Coixet illustre avec tact et simplicit en tirant merveilleusement profit de l'immense talent de ses deux interprtes

Rated: 7/10

Jan 29, 2010

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Andrew L. Urban

Urban Cinefile

Heartache is guaranteed. And so it is in The Secret Life of Words, a strangely beautiful film about an ugly memory that Hanna (Sarah Polley) carries for the rest of her life

Jul 25, 2008

Full Review

Walter Chaw

Film Freak Central

Can't resist the meaningful political backstory that will transform her characters into symbols--that is, into ventriloquist dummies rattling off humdrum rhetoric.

Rated: 1.5/4

May 3, 2007

Full Review

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Fra B

If the movie gives me a chance to avoid connecting with the real pain and the real suffering of the characters, I'm probably gonna take it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/09/21

Full Review

Audience Member

It's a wonderful film. I feel lucky to have sent it on the big screen. You don't see many like this any more.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/27/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a difficult story to tell, counted with powerful images

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wounds of mind are always more difficult to heal than those of flesh.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In the middle of story, it seems to be so forced.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The film succeeds mainly as a story of the connective, regenerative tissue between words and silence on the level strength of its listeners

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

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Isabel Coixet

Director

Sarah Polley

Hanna

Tim Robbins

Josef

Javier Cámara

Simon

Sverre Anker Ousdal

Dimitri

Julie Christie

Inge

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Synopsis

A solitary nurse (Sarah Polley) bonds with a badly burned patient (Tim Robbins) who survived an accident on an oil rig.

Director: Isabel Coixet
Producer: Esther García
Screenwriter: Isabel Coixet
Production Co: El Deseo S.A.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 16, 2005, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $20.0K
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital