The Secret Woman – Movie Review | Netflix (3/5)

THE SECRET WOMAN on Netflix is a new crime thriller mystery from Denmark (org. title: Den hemmelige kvinde). It’s the story of a woman who lost her memory. She has no idea who she is and has built a new life when someone from her past finds her. And no, this is not a new Jason Bourne story, and she is not an action hero. Read our full movie review of The Secret Woman here!

THE SECRET WOMAN is a Netflix movie from Denmark (org. title: Den hemmelige kvinde). It comes from the same director and author as Loving Adults, which I was not crazy about. This one is much better and well-rounded, which may be because the authors didn’t adapt their own book this time around.

If you’ve watched the trailer, you’ll have a good idea of who is good and bad in the plot. However, there is much more to this story than “just” that. In fact, this movie worked so well for me because it has a bigger story. Sure, some elements are a little soapy towards the end, but in a way that suits this crime thriller mystery. The runtime is close to two hours, but it didn’t feel too long, so that’s a very positive thing.

Continue reading our The Secret Woman movie review below. Find it on Netflix from August 28, 2026.

Starting over until you’re pulled back

The Secret Woman is the story of a woman living a quiet and very idyllic life on the Norwegian island of Hidra. Her name is Louise Andersen (Natalie Madueño), and at first she seems like any happy Scandinavian woman. She is Danish and runs a small café with her partner Joachim (Pål Sverre), who is doing research for a book he may never actually write.

It’s a simple life with the one strange fact that Louise showed up a few years earlier with no memory of who she is. She has a bag with ID that showed her name, but it’s a very common name, and she didn’t appear to have any living relatives. As a result, she started building this new life, and she seems content and happy.

Then a tourist shows up and recognizes her as Helene Söderberg, a woman who vanished from Denmark three years earlier. At first, she insists that she is not Helene, but Louise, and yet there’s something that feels off. A DNA test reveals that the ID was incorrect and she is, in fact, Helene Söderberg. Not only is she married to Edmund (Claes Bang), but she also has a young son, Alexander (David Elting).

Follow Helene as she rediscovers who she is

While Helene now feels like Louise and loves her Norwegian partner Joachim, she obviously cannot give up on her son. Also, she needs to figure out what happened that caused her to forget who she is. She travels back home to Denmark and starts remembering slowly as she steps into her old life. What comes next is us seeing the mystery of her life and disappearance unfold.

It’s interesting, nerve-wracking, scary, and even extremely unexpected at times. Also, terrifyingly realistic in ways I never anticipated. Both in direct regard to Helene and the strange things she discovers about the world she comes from.

Alongside Natalie Madueño (The Rain), Claes Bang (Dracula), and Pål Sverre Hagen (Kon-Tiki), you’re getting a supporting cast of very familiar Scandinavian faces in even very small roles. As the mother-in-law of Helene, we have Stina Ekblad (A Day and a Half), and as the café colleague in Norway, Thea Sofie Loch Næss (La Palma).

Finally, as the Norwegian police officer helping Louise realize she’s Helene, we have genre icon from the Cold Prey franchise and Westworld, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal.

Watch The Secret Woman on Netflix

The Secret Woman comes from director Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg (True Blood webisodes, Mayby Baby), and I’ve always enjoyed her style, so I’m happy the plot was also better this time around. She directed the Anna Ekberg adaptation Loving Adults, where I really did not care for the story. For many reasons, both logical and personal.

With that former Anna Ekberg novel adapted into a feature film, the screenwriters were the authors of the book: Jacob Weinreich and Anders Rønnow Klarlund. Yes, two men are behind the pseudonym that is “Anna Ekberg”. And yes, it shows!

Fortunately, for this 2026 Netflix adaptation, the director co-wrote the screenplay with Anders August (The Quiet Ones, The Model). Without going into how directly it adapts the story from the book, it certainly made for a better movie. Gone were the many strange elements and character reactions that felt grossly unrealistic, and remaining are the fascinating story elements.

Whether you actually did enjoy Loving Adults or not (like me), I think The Secret Woman is worth watching. As mentioned initially, the mystery isn’t that surprising when it comes to who is good or bad, but every time I feared it would start going off the rails, it got back on track. I commend that!

The Secret Woman (org. title: Den hemmelige kvinde) is on Netflix from August 28, 2026.

📺 Watch trailer

Details

Director: Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg
Writers: Anders August & Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg 
Cast: Natalie Madueño, Claes Bang, Pål Sverre Hagen, Stina Ekblad, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Lars Simonsen