The Secret in Their Eyes

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The phenomenal hit  El secreto de sus ojos by Señor Juan José Campanella(who is also one of the producers of the Hollywood film)  was a tough act to follow, so a remake was out of the question, but Billy Ray still dared to recreate it.  It had some of Hollywood's best actors, so what could go wrong, right? Still, when it was shown some weeks ago, it had mixed reviews.

Where do I stand? Since I was not able to watch the Argentinian original, I watched the movie with innocent eyes.  I journeyed with Ray, Claire, Jess and Bumpy.  Journeyed?  It was more like the Anchors Aweigh ride at famous amusement park in the country or a pendulum.  We swung back and forth, back and forth, back and forth in a hypnotic spell(redundant?).  

I felt the tension and even got angry with a lot of characters, but I empathized and sympathized with the main characters.  

For me and my companions, it was a good movie.  We liked it.  Do people like Martin Morales exist?  Here in our country, there are lots of people like that.  Thank goodness there are more people who do their jobs well and wholeheartedly, but sad to say, there are those people who would choose to solve bigger case than a seemingly less important one.

One critic said, "How could they choose this over that? It's preposterous.  It's unbelievable."

It may be hard for you guys to understand that, but this was based on an Argentinian film and maybe it also happens there in the US of A, but you don't know that those people exist.  I hope not.  

Another thing.  There's a reason why Jess Cobb grew a hundred years older while Claire and Ray did not age much.  If you're not familiar with the story, you would understand it towards the end.

It is a scary story and it happens in real life.  No matter how brave you are, when it comes to your family...

It's a good thing that I watch the reruns Major Crimes, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, Rizzoli and Isles, The Mentalist, Law & Order et cetera, or else, I don't think I could handle a movie in this genre... 

Oh well.

I'll just leave the technical aspects to the experts, even if not everyone really liked it the way we did.  The morality is not laudable, I must say, but...

Anyways, if you noticed, I did not mention the name of the actors.  Why?  It's because I momentarily forgot who they were.  That's how good they are.

 Review by JIM LANE
                            'Secret in Their Eyes' has Julia Roberts at her best
                   'Secret in Their Eyes' review: Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor elevate dark thriller
                      by  Dave Calhoun

Rising FBI investigators Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts), along with Claire (Nicole Kidman), their district-attorney supervisor, are suddenly torn apart following the brutal murder of Jess' teenage daughter. Thirteen years later, after obsessively searching for the elusive killer, Ray uncovers a new lead that he is certain can permanently resolve the case and bring long-desired closure to the team. But no one is prepared for the shocking and unspeakable secret that follows.

Initial release: November 11, 2015 (Los Angeles)

Director: Billy Ray

Running time: 1h 51m

Cinematography: Daniel Moder

Story by: Eduardo Sacheri

Based on El secreto de sus ojos by Juan José Campanella and La pregunta de sus ojos 
by Eduardo Sacheri

• Chiwetel Ejiofor as Raymond "Ray" Kasten (This guy can really, really act well.)
• Nicole Kidman as Claire Sloan  (Her beauty is usually of the fierce kind, but here, even if she's a tough woman here, her face looked mild, but her eyes were intense)
• Julia Roberts as Jessica "Jess" Cobb (Her look thirteen years later reminded me of Mary Reilly.)
• Dean Norris as Bumpy Willis (He's perfect for the role of Bumpy.)
• Michael Kelly as Reginald "Reg" Siefert (This actor is so good that i wanted to kick him.)
• Alfred Molina as Martin Morales (Another versatile actor. Here, he's an a-hole.)
• Zoe Graham as Carolyn Cobb (She looks like Julia Roberts when she was much, much younger...perfect casting...she also acts well)
• Lyndon Smith as Kit.  
• Joe Cole as Marzin / Beckwith  (Wow.  His eyes alone looked evil, but he still had some innocence in his face that could pass for someone you could trust.  He was so good that I wanted to throw at millstone at him...could I even carry a millstone?  I could, if I were really, really angry.)
• Donald Patrick Harvey as Fierro
• Mark Famiglietti as Duty Sergeant Jacobs
• Ross Partridge as Ellis
• Slim Khezri as LA Dodgers Fan