To be perfectly honest, I’m highly skeptical of any movie whose theatrical release is limited to one night in 200 theatres. On a Monday. To be more honest, I’m even more skeptical when the film is produced and released through a “Christian” company. The whole scenario suggests schlock—an image that the product in question isn’t good enough for “real” distribution, isn’t entertaining or artistically competent enough for actual paying audiences.

Sometimes low expectations work in a film’s favor. That’s certainly the case with Hidden Secrets, the flagship release of new film production company PureFlix Entertainment—a film I only agreed to review because it technically meets the criteria for films we review at Past the Popcorn: it’s booked for theatrical release (April 30), and it is potentially relevant to our readership.

But boy was my schlock-meter calibrated for maximum sensitivity when I popped the screener into my laptop on a flight down to L.A. I was therefore pleasantly surprised by this idealistic, gentle, somewhat cloistered, but genuinely moving little film.

Hidden Secrets opens with a suggestive sequence in which a man struggling with secret sin writes a suicide note and puts a loaded gun to his head. Two days later, friends and family gather to mourn the loss of a man they had come to know as a spiritual giant. Some of those who knew Chris haven’t seen each other in years. One of them is Gary, Chris’ outspokenly atheistic boss. One is Harold, whose wife Rhonda is a judgmental hellion bent on naming sin everywhere she sees it—except in herself. Another is Jeremy, Chris’ best friend, who brings along his girlfriend Rachel. She’s determined to put an end to Jeremy’s sentimental attachment to his former girlfriend Sherry, Chris’ sister.

So on the surface, Hidden Secrets is a story of loss, grief, and love gone wrong—and trying to get it right. Fortunately, the film works fairly decently at this level. David A. R. White and Tracy Melchior as Jeremy and Sherry portray appealing if thinly-written characters, and Staci Keanan as Rachel almost steals the show. All three legs of this triangle are solid, professional work; on this tripod the heart of the story can securely rest.

Because there’s a lot more going on beneath the surface. It’s odd, for instance, that Chris’ friends and family have nothing but good things to say about him. Why, then, the suicidal mourning about sin and forgiveness? Why the loaded pistol? Hidden Secrets sets up a real mystery there, and unravels it in unexpected ways.

What’s more, all of these churchy folk have secrets of their own—though none of them is, say, an axe-murderer, pederast, or crack fiend. No, we’re not in Hustle and Flow land here; but we’re not in Leave it to Beaver, either. These characters are like most of us: struggling with sin real enough and strong enough to continue undermining our relationships with God and others, but still mild enough to allow a continued masquerade of decency and normalcy.

This kind of sin is almost more destructive than that of, say, Ted Haggard. At least Haggard’s sin found him out without a conscious decision on his part to go public. Most of us, on the other hand, are only going to get around to confessing our sins by deliberate choice. And that’s what Jeremy, Rhonda, Sherry, and others do in Hidden Secrets—in the interest of healing, wholeness, and faithfulness to what Scripture calls for.

I won’t pretend that Hidden Secrets is a perfect film. Far from it. It has just enough church-centric unprofessionalism—the kind that thinks, “Hey, my buddy so-and-so could do this job; he needs the work, and he’s a Christian, too!”—to make me wonder if Christians adequately consider the notion of “calling” in arts ministry. Its structure depends far too much on CCM-style fluff-video sequences instead of true cinematic exposition, and much of the dialogue (and a couple of the characterizations, including John Schneider’s as Gary) are too reminiscent of, say, late-1960s episodes of As the World Turns. But the production values here are otherwise quite good—and the filmmakers are to be commended for presenting a moving scenario that honestly depicts brokenness, repentance, forgiveness, selflessness, and reconciliation.

If only the church scenes hadn’t been so contrived… Still, director Carey Scott has mostly managed to accomplish what he set out to do with Hidden Secrets, I think. Here’s hoping his film manages to be seen by its intended audience: Christians and seekers with secrets of their own—and confessions yet to be made. I enjoyed this film. Maybe they will too.

Hidden Secrets is unrated, but the film’s official site notes “thematic elements” that are unsuitable for children. I’d agree that the film is not appropriate for family viewing—while the sins discussed (and not shown) in the film are by no means hideous, I doubt that children (or even younger teenagers) would have much interest in watching adults work through confession and redemption. I could be wrong about that, though; you know your children better than I do.

If you’re interested in finding out whether one of the 200 screens on which Hidden Secrets is playing is in your neck of the woods on Monday night, April 30, you can check for tickets and movie times online.

Courtesy of a national publicist, Greg viewed a promotional screener of Hidden Secrets.