Created by Danish filmmaker and actress Ingeborg Topsøe, Netflix's Secrets We Keep (originally titled Reservatet) is an entertaining, captivating, yet relevant crime miniseries that deals with the tensions and suspicions between rich and poor. It's hard to imagine it not finding an audience, as Secrets We Keep explores similar thematic territory to this year's most high-profile hits, Adolescence and The White Lotus, and, in some ways, handles its dark content even better. You can watch this remarkably efficient thriller from start to finish in just over three hours, and you should.
Secrets We Keep is set in a wealthy, socially connected suburb of Copenhagen, where Cecilie (Marie Bach Hansen) is disturbed and haunted by the sudden disappearance of Ruby (Donna Levkoski), the nanny to her millionaire neighbors and friends, Rasmus (Lars Ranthe) and his wife Katarina (Danica Ćurčić).
Creator: Ingeborg Topsøe
Stars: Marie Bach Hansen, Excel Busano, Danica Curcic
The morning after expressing her discontent and even fear for her employers to a practically indifferent Cecilie, Ruby disappears under extremely mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her passport, cash, and basically everything that someone who leaves intentionally wouldn't leave behind. Cecilie becomes the most dedicated (albeit unsanctioned and unofficial) investigator on the case, eventually working alongside local police officer Aicha (Sara Fanta Traore).
Everyone is a suspect, and everyone is suspicious. The most suspicious in Cecilie's orbit are Rasmus and Katarina, a charismatic but sycophantic and self-serving couple who couldn't help but be interested in finding out why a young woman in their employ has seemingly vanished from the face of the Earth. They are socially intertwined with Cecilie and her husband Mike (Simon Sears), as Mike is the lawyer for industrialist Rasmus. Ruby's proximity to the couple's teenage son, Oscar (Frode Bilde Rønsholt), raises many red flags in the investigation, and it doesn't help matters, as the boy is obviously sick and misanthropic, in a disconnected, chronically online way. Oscar's best friend is Cecilie's son, Viggo (Lukas Zuperka), though their relationship seems to be fraying. Suspicions even arise around Cecilie's au pair, Angel (Excel Busano), who, like Ruby, also has a temporary work permit from the Philippines and is at the mercy of her employer in a one-sided arrangement.
It's no spoiler to say that, with such young children on the scene, the series explores an uncomfortable and timely topic, similar to the Netflix hit Adolescence from earlier this year. There's also a very direct exploration of the disparities between the hyper-rich and the marginalized that evokes The White Lotus, though here it's presented without the filter of satire or much humor.
There's something to be said for an intelligent series that balances pure entertainment with a dash of social commentary, presenting it all with seriousness. The mystery elements are functional—not particularly unpredictable, but useful. Secrets We Keep aims to be a blend of thriller and drama, pulp fiction and light social observation. It's an easy-to-digest balance between all of this. The result is an intelligent, captivating, and even darkly funny miniseries. Secrets We Keep isn't as deep or poignant as Adolescence, but it does have a much stronger ending than both of those series and the much-discussed third season of The White Lotus. Some viewers will likely take issue with Secrets We Keep's unresolved plot threads and unanswered questions, but this is all intentional and part of its purpose. It's a consistently watchable series that earns extra points for not wasting your time.
The solid performances across the board are crucial to Secrets We Keep's success. In particular, Hansen presents a captivating and principled protagonist, though far from perfect or completely altruistic, and the children's performances are appropriately unsettling. However, it's Serbian-Danish actor Ćurčić, who previously appeared in the Netflix series The Chestnut Man and Equinox, who steals the show. Katarina is endlessly selfish, even terrifyingly so. She's a rather unpleasant and very distrustful person, but recognizably human, magnetic, and even appealing.
Like any good crime novel, Secrets We Keep will probably make you wonder how you'd fit into all of this if you found yourself in similar circumstances. But that's part of what's great about this genre when it's done well, and one of the many great things about this noir miniseries: it hooks you in.
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