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THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS
Writer & Director: Isabel Coixet.
Producer: Esther García.
Director of Photography: Jean-Claude Larrieu.
Editor: Irene Blecua.
Released by: Strand Releasing/Focus Features.
Language: English.
Country of Origin: Spain. 87 min. Not Rated.
Cast: Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Javier Cámara, & Julie Christie.

In this world of constant information overflow, they are not many times when a person walks into a theatre knowing absolutely nothing about a film and having no expectations whatsoever. That was my experience with this quiet, yet powerful film. Additionally, it is also one of very few recent films where you have no idea where it is going to wind up until the end. That is in itself quite refreshing.

Director Isabel Coixet again teams up with the understated and talented actress Sarah Polley (they previously collaborated in My Life Without Me), bringing a complex and damaged woman's life to the screen – Hanna, an isolated deaf factory worker. Coixet starts off making you uncomfortable; you are not given enough information about exactly where the film takes place, or anything about Hannah's deafness (except that she is able to turn down the din of the factory by turning off her hearing aid.) For Hanna, each day is a monotonous repeat of the previous one, eating the same meal of white rice, chicken, and apples, and not talking to anyone.

Because she has not taken a vacation day in four years, her boss forces her to take some time off. She winds up in Northern Ireland volunteering as a nurse to an injured man on an oil rig in the middle of the Irish Sea. The whole premise of her getting to the rig is a big leap, but gets points for creativity. Tim Robbins is Josef, a temporarily blinded and burned worker who needs care while he recuperates, and Hanna steps into the role seamlessly. This gigantic city at sea is shut down after the accident that injured Josef and killed another man; there is only a shell of a crew of misfits who want to be left alone (just like Hanna), led most notably by Simon the chef (Talk to Her’s Javier Cámara), who creates each day's menu from a different region of the world using the region's music as a distraction to keep him sane stuck on the rig.

With all its constant noise, the rig is a refuge for Hanna. She begins to come out of her shell, taking on a different persona livening Josef’s spirits. They are complete opposites, he is a big talker, and she barely speaks. Simon also exposes Hanna to new food, which help waken her dormant taste buds and, in turn, her dormant emotional side. Right before they transfer Josef off the rig for further treatment, Hanna's hellish story of how she lost her hearing pours out of her (it is too striking to reveal anything more here). The gift Josef gave her was to listen.

Julie Christie plays the small role of Hanna's counselor, and Josef goes to see her to try and find Hanna after he has fully recovered. Her scenes are brief, yet, as always, Christie is riveting. Sarah Polley also completely immerses herself in her role, reminding one of a younger Meryl Streep. Polley has not gone the Hollywood route as an actress and that in itself is remarkable, but the sadness she imbues in Hanna is difficult to watch – she makes it so real and so painful. I don't think any of her contemporaries in Hollywood would be able to take on a role like this and make it as heartfelt as Polley does.

Without giving away too many details, Coixet thrusts the Balkan conflict back onto the main stage, years after that tragedy has fallen off the front page. In doing so, Coixet challenges the audience to consider what happens to survivors, and more poignantly, does surviving mean you are still alive? Because of its long silences, this is a tough movie to watch, but being so different makes it worth the effort.
Melissa Silverstein, a writer on women & popular culture and online editor for The Women's Media Center
December 15, 2006