Telling Secrets (TV Movie 1993) Poster

(1993 TV Movie)

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6/10
It's one way to pass 3 hours
augustian18 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Here's a mystery: Why do Hollywood kids call their mums, "Mormy, Mormy"? You never hear teenagers or adults say it like that, so the question is, at what age do Hollywood kids stop saying "Mormy" and what triggers the change? Anyway, now for the film. The question is not who did it - we actually know the answer - but who instigated it? Faith Kelsey (Cybill Shepherd) wants her wedding ring back but is that a good enough motive for murder? Or could be that the dead woman stole Kelsey's first husband? Faith herself is hardly a paragon of virtue, playing the seductress to get her way; and her father is hardly sympathetic to her problems.

Whilst the other actors play their parts well enough, Cybill Shepherd does not really convince as the cunning seductress she is supposed to be. In fact, it would be difficult to think of any reason why she would have so much attraction to any man. She comes across as a bit of a Plain Jane and not much better on the emotion front. On a different subject, I found it quite amusing during the assassination attempt at the lake, when the actor (or stuntman) playing Faith's new husband Terry, tries to escape the gunmen by jumping high into the air before diving into the water. He should be recruited into the Olympics high-jump team. Otherwise it was an acceptable way of passing three hours.
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5/10
This is a true story....
elarond24 January 2022
If you understand this is true and a woman was murdered ... and the woman who hired the killer was free for years..... you might look at it differently.
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4/10
Hard to tell what it's all about
Nice music and scenery--somewhat portentous from the beginning. The film draws you in and takes itself very seriously. We're constantly waiting for momentous things to happen, but the movie just goes on and on.

The men really seem to have problems in this movie. Is this a new trend: impotent men who don't love their wives, and who are hen-pecked. None of the heavy, masculine, powerful stuff in this movie, and probably that's good: more like real life.

Hard to know what the film is all about. The motivation for the killing is unclear. And why do all the guys fall in love with Cybil? She doesn't seem so appealing to me: kind of cold and not really sexy. Phony baloney to imagine her as so alluring, and presumably that's the core of the movie-- the main character's seductive power.
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Fair
lakrasia15 June 2003
It was watchable, but Cybil Shepherd showed here that she really can't act. Every line she spoke sounded wooden and unconvincing, without an ounce of real feeling in it. It took me a while to realise all the guys were falling in love with her, because it seemed so unbelievable as she didn't have a personality.

The other actors were far better and saved it and the plot was quite enjoyable, just a bit too long. Kicked myself afterwards for wasting over two and a half hours on something that neither inspired nor informed.

I very much doubt it was a true story. It's a common ploy for fictional films to have a bit of text at the end saying what happened to the characters. On this occasion, I forgot to check if it was followed by the disclaimer about "not resembling anyone in real life".
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2/10
Time Filler/ Waster
ximdb9001 November 2017
OMG,this is one of the worst movies I've ever seen! The story line this movie is loosely based on is interesting, but the lead detective working this case is one of the most LAZY,UNINQUISITIVE and UNIMAGINATIVE detectives I've ever seen. He's not a rookie investigator. From the beginning of the murder investigation, major clues were overlooked. VERY SLOPPY AND INEPT detective work.This story seemed to drag on indefinitely...
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9/10
Good vehicle for Shepherd
max84312 November 2006
This is the best I have seen of Cybil Shepherd on screen, aside from several episodes of "Cybil" the television show. I haven't seen her in any plays. Her delivery works in this movie, and look in her eyes became quite frightening at times.

This is the 3rd or 4th time I have seen "Telling Secrets" over the years. With digital cable and a large screen this last viewing was the best. All of the casting, including the minor characters, was quite good. I especially liked the interplay between the two detectives, Ken Olin and Gary Grubbs.

I am not particularly "into" television movies, but was interested to see that this was directed by Marvin Chomsky who also directed "The Deliberate Stranger" with Mark Harmon, bringing excellent performances out of that cast as well.
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