Review: Secret in Their Eyes

hiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman in Secret in Their Eyes

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).

Julia Roberts in Secret in Their Eyes

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.

4 thoughts on “Review: Secret in Their Eyes”

  1. Torben Retboll

    The US movie from 2015 is a remake of an Argentinean movie from 2009. I do not understand why this fact us not mentioned in your review.

    The original movie from 2009 won an Oscar. I have seen it and I was not impressed. Most reviews of the US remake compare with the original and say that the remake is not as good as the original.

      1. Torben Retboll

        Thanks for your message. I watched the original from 2009 some time ago. I decided to watch it because it had so many positive reviews and because it had won an Oscar (best foreign movie).

        I was deeply disappointed. I cannot understand how this movie could win an Oscar.

        I have have not seen the US remake from 2015 because most people offer negative reviews. If the remake is worse than the original, it must be terrible!

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