Top Drawer Cinema

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2010)

This really is an absolutely marvellous film. It really blew me away. A retired legal counsellor Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin) wants to write a book about a case he investigated 25 years ago. The case was a brutal rape and murder of a young girl and it still plays on his mind after all that time. He struggles to get it started so visits his former boss Irene Menendez Hastings (Soledad Villamil) to discuss it as she was also his superior at the time and the two have a close relationship. The film then moves back and forward from the case at the time to the present day as the story, along with each of the personal journeys of Esposito, Hastings and the grieving husband Ricardo Morales (Pablo Rago) are slowly revealed. The two main characters have superb chemistry, the film has some amazing shots and scenes, particularly one at a football match which is really exciting and there are some great characters including the quite hilarious assistant of Esposito, Pablo, played by Argentinian comic actor Guillermo Francella, who has a great way of answering his phone. It's a great story, well written, no scenes are wasted, and there's a quirky side tale of the missing letter 'A' which is really cool. Do not miss this one whatever you do. Absolutely first rate in every way.