Chiwetel
Ejiofor, Julia Roberts, and Nicole Kidman star as three anti-terrorist agents who
discover the body of a rape victim that turns out to be the daughter of one of
their own. The suspect is guilty as sin,
but since he’s a valuable snitch, the department deems protecting his
information as more important than allowing justice to prevail. The tight-knit cops then proceed to twist the
law to see justice served.
Despite the all-star cast, Secret in Their Eyes kind of came and went with very little fanfare. Because of that, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot. Those lowered expectations probably helped because I wasn’t expecting a total gut-punch of a movie.
The
film is anchored by a devastating performance by Roberts. She completely disappears into the role and
delivers a brave, honest, and raw performance. She pairs nicely with Kidman and the two have
a lot of chemistry together, which will make you wonder why they waited so long
to team up. Ejiofor also does an
excellent job as the dogged, desperate detective willing to bend the rules no
matter the cost.
Secret
in Their Eyes is extremely well-plotted and unfolds like a fine novel, drifting
back and forth seamlessly between the past and present. Director Billy (Shattered
Glass) Ray doles out vital plot breadcrumbs sparingly and in such a way that it
not only propels the story but enriches the characters at the same time. There are plenty of surprises along the way too.
In fact, there’s maybe one twist too
many as Ray pulls the rug out from the audience so many times that by the end
of the movie, he’s practically ripping up the floorboards. Then again, this is the guy who wrote Color
of Night, so of course he’s gonna pull out all the stops in the final reel. Even then. it never quite goes off the rails as
the film is still able to hit all the important emotional beats before leaving
the audience dizzy with all the crazy twists.
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