Review: SECRET IN THEIR EYES is A-List Disappointment, Despite Ejiofor's Brilliance

I know the type of movie that SECRET IN THEIR EYES wants to be. It wants to be an emotional, character-driven thriller whose twists and turns keep the audience guessing. It wants to be a film that is as compelling because of its unique storytelling as it is for its damaged and fragile characters. It wants to be THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES. Unfortunately, while the ingredients are there; a phenomenal cast, outstanding performances, a captivating narrative, a consistently impactful (if not actually consistent) tone; it just never reaches the lofty expectations that the original Argentinian version set.

Juan José Campanella's THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES, or EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS, won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and writer/director Billy Ray's Americanized version (without the "THE") aspires to be the same sort of movie. However, despite an A-List cast, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts, it never seems to settle on how exactly it wants to get there.

The story follows parallel investigations into the same crime separated by over a decade. In the wake of 9/11, FBI Counterterrorism agent Ray (Ejiofor) discovers the body of Carolyn Cobb (Zoe Graham), the daughter of colleague and friend Jess (Roberts). The scene, early in the film, is remarkably powerful. Both Ejiofor and Roberts provide back-to-back devastating reactions to comprehending what has taken place. This moment, in all of its palpable pain, is the film at its best. Unfortunately, while the sting of fresh grief is omnipresent throughout the film, nothing again reaches the level of this early heart-breaking scene.

Despite the investigation turning up a strong person of interest by the name of Marzin (Joe Cole), Ray is never able to make anything stick before the suspect disappears. This half of the story is interwoven with the characters, 13 years later, still unable to completely move on from their inability to bring Carolyn's killer to justice. Even though he is in love with district attorney Claire (Kidman), Ray has relocated from L.A. to New York, but has never stopped searching for Marzin. Then, while scanning mugshots, Ray believes that he's found him, now going by the name "Beckwith." Ejiofor's Ray, still haunted by his past failure, returns to Los Angeles to finally close the case.

The storytelling construction of how these two halves of the investigation intermix is extremely effective. Discoveries made in 2002 inform the search in 2015, and vice versa. From technical and narrative perspectives, the filmmaker Ray has crafted an extremely strong foundation for the film. However, he has littered this world with lame subplots, and lazy devices that make it difficult to ever become fully invested in what could, and should, be a riveting story.

Ray throws so many contrasting elements into his script that they never coalesce into one narrative tone; there are parts that feel like a hard-boiled police drama, parts that feel like an out-of-place office romance, parts that feel like an emotional character study. When the film works best, it is an examination of how grief and guilt can lead to obsession, and how obsession can lead individuals to make decisions that normally would never cross their minds.

Ejiofor, an Academy Award nominee for 12 YEARS A SLAVE, and an Olivier winner for 2008's OTHELLO, brings far more substance to the role than is on the page. His Ray is driven by regret, and neither time, nor distance can lessen his burden. There is no question that this film is his, and if the project as a whole had been better, Ejiofor likely would have been looking at even more nominations. Unfortunately, the whole is nowhere near as strong as some of its parts.

As the devastated mother, Roberts feels underused in the film. The moments she has are fantastic, but they are so fleeting, you can go 15-20 minutes at a time and forget that one of the biggest stars in the world is even in the film.

Conversely, Kidman not only feels miscast, but she also feels as though she is acting in a completely different film from the rest of the cast. Nearly every choice she makes, from her voice to her interactions, seems out of place, whether for the character, or the film in general. Claire is only minimally important to the plot, and her screen-time would have been put to far better giving us more time to get to know more about Roberts' Jess.

The always reliable actors Dean Norris, Michael Kelly, and Alfred Molina are strong in supporting roles, but even their collective presence isn't enough to raise this film from being one of the underachieving films of the year. While it is easy to appreciate Ray's ambition, and Ejiofor's brilliance, SECRET IN THEIR EYES never approaches the greatness it envisioned for itself.

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Check out the trailer:

SECRET IN THEIR EYES, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, and more, is now open nationwide, and is rated PG-13 for thematic material involving disturbing violent content, language, and some sexual references.

Did SECRET IN THEIR EYES have a more positive impact on you? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @BWWMatt. If you want to follow along with my "366 in 366" articles, you can check out #BWW366in366 on Twitter. Also, make sure to follow @BWWMoviesWorld on Twitter for all of the biggest news from the world of movies.

Banner Photo Credit: Karen Ballard | STX Productions
Video Credit: STX Productions

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