FilmSnobReviews

Title: Secret in Their Eyes 
MPAA Rating: R
Director: PG-13
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts
Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

What It Is: A few short months after the 9/11 attacks on New York City in 20o1 the whole country was on edge. In Los Angeles a counterterrorism arm of the Los Angeles Police Department which includes FBI investigator Ray (Ejiofor) as well as Jess (Roberts) and new second-chair to the District Attorney Claire (Kidman) as they investigate a hotbed mosque in L.A. they make a grisly discovery in a trash can. It just so happens to be Jess’ daughter Carolyn. As the search continues (which it does for 13 years) Ray believes he’s found the man responsible.

What We Think: There’s a collection of excellent ingredients all squandered in a barrage of mediocrity. Julia Roberts is wasted, Chiwetel Ejiofor is quite brilliant, even better than this movie deserves. From a structural point of view, this movie is a freaking disaster. When you watch this you can’t help but wonder what this film would have looked like with a much better script. There was a thought process going through my brain during the third act that really just could not think of how something terrible like this could have happened. There’s some much decent acting here that just gets squandered in the trapping of the bad film it’s built around.

Our Grade: D+, I’ve seen the original Argentinian film and it is a freaking masterpiece. This is a piece of a different context if you know what I mean. What in all things holy is with the ending of this movie? It is terrible. Not only that but it never does tie up all the loose ends created by the unfulfilled writing. We get characters who, had they been fleshed out might’ve been a much better creation. As it stands it is a glaring example of over-reliance on your cast without giving them enough to work with. Also that ending is terrible!