The Secrets We Keep

In post-World War II America, Maja Reid is a Romanian refugee who has built a new life with her American husband, Lewis, and a young son, Patrick, but she is still haunted by the darkest memories of the war. While walking on the street, she recognizes the man whom she believes is a former German soldier she encountered 15 years ago. She tails him to the house where she sees that he has a wife and two children. The next day, on a pretense that her car broke down, Maja knocks the man out and puts him in the trunk.

Returning to the house, Maja tells her past memories to Lewis, saying that she and other women escaped to Romania when the SS soldiers found them and murdered few of them. She admits that she put the man in the trunk, disturbing Lewis. The two of them then bring the man to the basement and tie him up in the chair. There, Maja interrogates the man when the latter insists that his name is Thomas Steinmann and he is a Swiss but Maja disputes him, telling him that his name is “Karl” and background of his war crimes. Thomas attempts to escape and yells for help at the front door but Lewis incapacitates him. When one of the neighbor named Jim awaken by Thomas' yell, Maja convinces him that it came from the street. At the clinic where Lewis is working, he looks a document of Thomas, stating that he is indeed a native from Switzerland.

At the house, Thomas continues to deny Maja's allegations of Thomas' crimes until she forces him to say "Zigeuner Fotze" (German word for "Gypsy Cunt"). Throughout the film, a series flashback reveals the German soldiers killing and raping the women. She reveals that her sister Miriah was among the victim. When Thomas is confronted by Lewis, he tells her that he was in Zurich for the whole war and also tells the name of his acquaintances to Lewis that could prove Thomas’ existence in that area. Thomas added that he became the naturalized citizen of the United States after he married Rachel, and promises that he will not go to the police because he has a forged travel visa document in order to stay in the U.S.

Maja pays a visit to Rachel at her house where she discovers the ring she wore has a Star of David engrave on it. Believing that Thomas stole the ring from the Jewish victim, Maja forces him to tell his last name but when Thomas continues to insist his name, she cuts his finger and takes the similar ring. Lewis plans to release Thomas, believing that he won’t go to the police, for their own sake but he will only get out if Maja wants Thomas to confess about his war experiences. Maja visits Rachel again at his house where the latter tells her that Thomas does not like to discuss about his past experiences and his family. Maja and Lewis then bring Thomas outside the town where they put him beside the pit. Maja threatens to shoot him if he doesn't tell her the truth. Maja recalls the memories of witnessing the two soldiers rape a woman and pouring alcohol down her throat. She runs away from the scene, leaving her sister behind. Thomas eventually confesses his crime; he was present during the murder and confirms that Maja never ran away. When he says “I did it”, Lewis executes him out of guilt. Maja and Lewis bury Thomas and clean their basement. With their secrets kept hidden, they celebrate the Fourth of July together with Rachel and her friends.

• Noomi Rapace as Maja Reid
• Joel Kinnaman as Thomas Steinman
• Chris Messina as Lewis Reid
• Amy Seimetz as Rachel Steinman
• Jackson Dean Vincent as Patrick Reid
• Miluette Nalin as Miriah
• Madison Paige Jones as Annabel Steinman
• Jeff Pope as Jim White
• David Maldonado as Officer Brouwer
• Ed Amatrudo as Albert Sonnderquist
• Victoria Hill as Claire

Set up for outdoor film shoot in Jefferson, Louisiana April 2019.

In November 2018, it was announced Noomi Rapace and Joel Kinnaman had joined the cast of the film, with Yuval Adler directing from a screenplay by Ryan Covington. Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Erik Howsam, Greg Shapiro and Adam Riback will serve as producers on the film, under their Di Bonaventura Pictures, AGC Studios and Echo Lake Entertainment banners, respectively.[3] In April 2019, Amy Seimetz and Chris Messina joined the cast of the film, with production beginning that same month.[4]

In May 2020, Bleecker Street acquired distribution rights to the film.[5] It was released in a limited release on September 16, 2020, followed by video on demand on October 16, 2020, by Bleecker Street.[6]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63% based on reviews from 49 critics, an average rating of 6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Secrets We Keep handles its more serious themes indelicately, but manages to offer some entertaining -- albeit implausible -- B-movie thrills."[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[8]

Dennis Harvey of Variety wrote: "This Death and the Maiden like suspense drama is neither fully convincing nor particularly original, its narrative running a course that feels somewhat predictable from the outset. But it's still strong enough to be effective."[9]

• The Secrets We Keep at IMDb