When the great Burt Bacharach famously sang, “What the world needs now is love, sweet love; no, not just for some, but for everyone,” it’s highly unlikely one of the world’s finest songwriters had a global pandemic in mind.

However, that’s precisely what the world needs right now: love, sweet love.

When there was full-on lockdown in March and April, at least we knew where we stood… well, sat down, while watching films and eating crisps. It truly was a different time.

But now, just a few months on, and we find ourselves in a weird sort of in-between world; it’s not quite a full-on lockdown, and yet freedom feels tantalisingly out of reach too. “Purgatory” doesn’t feel like too much of an exaggeration. 

It’s why The Secret: Dare To Dream has come into our lives at the most-perfect time. BALANCE does not mind admitting that, well, it had lost its balance. Weltschmerz had set in, tipping the cosmic seesaw towards negativity and a creeping sense of helplessness.

However, exactly one hour and 47 minutes later, the spring had returned to our step as we watched Katie Holmes meet Josh Lucas’s mysterious stranger and see her life changed in the most unexpected ways. We won’t say much more than that as there are twists and turns aplenty. 

And so we give you five non-spoilery reasons why The Secret: Dare To Dream is the perfect film for right now.

1. 1. Escapism: BALANCE has become worried that it has the viewing habits of a psychopath. We couldn’t remember the last time we watched something – anything – that wasn’t about a string of toe-curling crimes or how mankind was, ultimately, doomed. Thankfully, The Secret: Dare To Dream positively oozes hope, joy, love and a warm sense that listening to your heart will help you through the day. This is the film equivalent of a hug from a loved one. And, boy, did we need that.
   2. Josh Lucas: Why is Josh Lucas not in more stuff?! Josh Lucas is always so brilliant! And why does Josh Lucas have one of those names where you have to say his full name?! Anyway, Josh Lucas shines as Bray Johnson (terrific name. Kudos to the screenwriter who came up with that. Yes please), a man who, surely, seems too good to be true? Katie Holmes’s trouble-magnet Miranda Wells soon proves intrigued… Grab the popcorn, put the phone on silent and pop it in a drawer.
   3. You’ll revisit Rhonda: There is a strong chance that BALANCE has read and listened to The Secret (the audiobook version is a classic) more times than author Rhonda Byrne herself. It’s such a constant pick-me-up. However, one positive off-shoot of enjoying The Secret: Dare To Dream was revisiting the entire Byrne back catalogue. If you miss having a project in your life, we urge you to try out The Magic, where Rhonda sets the reader homework (but in the best way possible). As Rhonda tells Balance of her body of work: “It is work; it takes work to change the interior. And, when you’re using the mind, it takes repetition.”
   4. Watch your language: If you change the language you use, you can change your life. Take Katie Holmes’s character: she isn’t so much glass half full or glass half empty: she’d point out that the glass had a smudge on it, before panicking that she’d drop it, smash it and invariably fall on the shards and get rushed to hospital… Josh Lucas, on the other hand, is grateful to have a glass in the first place. If you’ve read The Secret, you will know the importance of the words we use and how that impacts our outlook on life. Remember to have an attitude of gratitude.
   5. We need help: Right now, many of us need help in some form or another. And while we’re obviously not saying The Secret: Dare To Dream is the same as going to see a therapist, it put an arm around the shoulder when BALANCE needed it most. “In a film and when you’re telling a fictional story with fictional characters, it can’t be filled with everything that’s in the documentary or the book. And so we had to make a decision to drive home one particular message, and that is: your thoughts are powerful. And the way you think will change your life. We really focused on that. And we wanted to make a movie that would inspire, bring hope and make people feel good.” Mission accomplished, Rhonda.

The Secret: Dare to Dream is available on Digital and DVD now; https://lnk.to/TheSecretDareToDream