Eckhart Tolle is a popular spiritual writer whose books The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose have sold 20 million copies globally and been translated into 48 languages. He has been championed by Oprah, and 35 million people have sampled his teachings through his webinars. Milton's Secret, a 2008 children's book by Tolle, has now been adapted for the screen by director Barnet Bain, who served as the producer of the transformational films The Celestine Prophecy and What Dreams May Come.
Many film critics turn savage when they come across what they consider to be New Thought bromides such as "live in the present moment" or "follow your bliss." So we will not be surprised if this movie gets some bad reviews. The family drama centers on the spiritual emergency of a 12-year-old boy who is bullied at school and brought low by his parents' anxiety about the future. With the help and wise council of his colorful grandfather he is able to weather the storms around and within himself. Whereas many viewers will find his transformation credible, others may wince at what they see as "the hocus pocus" aspects of the story and the "mumbo-jumbo" of the grandfather's wisdom observations. All we can say to those who view the film in this way is: "Try to be skeptical of your skepticism!" (one of the bits of wisdom from the grandfather).
Milton Adams (William Ainscough) is the son of Jane (Mia Kirshner), a real estate agent, and Bill (David Sutcliffe), a stockbroker. Both are workaholics who are burnt-out and unhappy in their marriage, thanks to constant worries about money. Wanting to help his parents, Milton and his best friend Tim (Hays Wellford) are conducting experiments in an empty house to create gold through the process of alchemy. At the same time, Milton must deal with the fear and danger that comes with being the main target of his neighbor and classmate Carter (Percy Hynes White) who bullies him regularly. In a voiceover, he says that he lives on "Planet Fear." On the Internet he finds a video about meditation and begins using breathing exercises to calm himself down.
Help comes to this beleaguered family when Jane's colorful and eccentric father Howard (Donald Sutherland) arrives for his first visit in five years. He is a free spirit who rides a motorcycle at home, carries his own brand of tea made of seaweed, wears Hawaiian shirts, begins an ambitious garden project, and shares news about his new girlfriend.
Howard reaches out to his troubled grandson and tutors him in the art of letting go of fear about the future and regrets about the past. He explains that the worries Milton has running around in his head are like house guests – they will eventually leave.
He has a special gift for dealing with animals, praising cats as Zen masters. Rather than avoiding the snarling Rottweiler next door, he offers the dog a bone. He then engages the owner, Carson's dad (Stephen Huszar), by commending him as a famous local football player and consoles the man for the courage he showed in leaving the sport after injuring his knee. In this act of genuine compassion, Howard plants the seeds of kindness and hope in this angry man.
These illustrations of spiritual practices make Milton's Secret a transformational film that speaks to the heart with its lessons about love, being present, nurturing, tenderness, and moving beyond fear and reactivity.