Secret in their Eyes is a 2015 film that recently appeared on Netflix. It has a stellar cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts.
Secret in their Eyes is a story of pain, loss, and the quest for justice. At the beginning Ray (Ejiofor), Claire (Kidman) and Jessica (Roberts) are all working together as cops in LA. The office dynamic is that Ray is in love with Claire, but she’s engaged to someone else.
They are called out on a rape and murder and it turns out to be Jessica’s daughter Carolyn (Zoe Graham).
They figure out who did the crime, but he escapes their grasp. Because the man they think did it is an informant in a mosque, the boss Martin Morales (Alfred Molina) doesn’t want him arrested. He thinks the anti-terrorist job in the mosque (what a trope!) is more important than the murder of a cop’s daughter.
Jessica is devastated, of course, but she continues to work as a cop. Jessica moves out of town where it’s quiet and peaceful. Ray leaves the department, leaves LA, and does consulting work in New York.
Thirteen years pass. The case is cold. Ray blows into town with a photo of a man he is sure is the murderer. He’s stared at mug shots by the hundreds every night for years looking for the guy. Claire is now the boss. He wants her to reopen the case.
Reg Siefert (Michael Kelly) who worked on the original case thinks Ray is crazy and it isn’t the guy. Jessica discourages the idea of reopening the case as well. But Ray convinces Claire to do it. He gets Bumpy Willis (Dean Norris), who also worked on the original case, to help.
Ray and Bumpy search for the man in the mug shot, who just got out of prison.
The story leads to an explosive and unusual climax.
Considering the star appeal of the cast, I didn’t find the acting to be especially outstanding. However, it was an engaging movie. If you didn’t see it when it first came out, you might want to push play on it while it’s on Netflix.
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