X
  • 2020
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2020
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 1 h 21 m
A Secret Love

Summary A Secret Love tells an incredible love story between Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, whose relationship spans nearly seven decades. Terry played in the women’s professional baseball league, inspiring the hit movie A League Of Their Own. But the film did not tell the real-life story of the women who remained closeted for most of their liv...

Directed By: Chris Bolan

Written By: Alexa L. Fogel, Brendan Mason, Chris Bolan

  • 2020
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 1 h 21 m
  • 2020
  • TV-MA
  • Netflix
  • 1 h 21 m

A Secret Love

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
77
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 20 User Ratings
7.8
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary A Secret Love tells an incredible love story between Terry Donahue and Pat Henschel, whose relationship spans nearly seven decades. Terry played in the women’s professional baseball league, inspiring the hit movie A League Of Their Own. But the film did not tell the real-life story of the women who remained closeted for most of their liv...

Directed By: Chris Bolan

Written By: Alexa L. Fogel, Brendan Mason, Chris Bolan

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
77
100% Positive
12 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
77
100% Positive
12 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
Apr 30, 2020
Bolan's film is essentially a home movie, that fantails into a larger cultural narrative of post-war North American culture. Shot on video between 2013 and 2018, mostly in intimate indoor settings, the film begins as fly-on-the-wall style cinema verite.
By Liam Lacey FULL REVIEW
80
Apr 30, 2020
When you look at the faces of the elderly Donahue and Henschel, even at their most frail, the young women within shine through. It’s enraging that society made them feel they had to hide. But their happiness is the ultimate triumph.
By Stephanie Zacharek FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 20 User Ratings
7.8
80% Positive
16 Ratings
15% Mixed
3 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 20 User Ratings
7.8
80% Positive
16 Ratings
15% Mixed
3 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

75
Apr 30, 2020
A Secret Love is guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings. It might be the quarantine or it might just be effective storytelling, but a scene near the end of the family coming together — not even a sad scene — left this reviewer in tears and I’m willing to bet I won’t be the only one.
By Lindsey Bahr FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 29, 2020
There is no crying in baseball, but you might just be reduced to a puddle of tears while watching Bolan’s film, which finally brings the duo’s love out of the shadows and gives it a long-overdue chance to shine.
By Tomris Laffly FULL REVIEW
75
Apr 28, 2020
There’s a French saying, “In love, there is always one who kisses and one who offers the cheek,” and usually, the more interesting story belongs to the one doing the kissing. In A Secret Love, that’s Pat.
By Mick LaSalle FULL REVIEW
70
Apr 29, 2020
Fans of queer cinema, "A League of Their Own" or just good old-fashioned love stories will find much to celebrate in A Secret Love, including a profound wedding scene that rivals any of the nuptials in cinematic history. As it turns out, there is crying in baseball.
By Robyn Bahr FULL REVIEW
65
Apr 29, 2020
Affecting at times and downright tear-jerking at others, their story is tied to the saga of gay life in America over the past 70-plus years. Still, it ends up feeling less like a history lesson and more like a universal acknowledgment: growing old with some kind of grace and peace should not be this hard.
By Steve Pond FULL REVIEW
See All 12 Critic Reviews

Details

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Production Company Beech Hill Films, Blumhouse Productions
Release Date Apr 29, 2020
Duration 1 h 21 m
Rating TV-MA
Genres
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Awards

Critics' Choice Documentary Awards
• 2 Nominations
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics
• 1 Nomination

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