Secret in Their Eyes

Plot synopsis:
In Los Angeles, in early 2002, not long after New York City's 9/11 attack, FBI counter-terrorism investigator Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Los Angeles district attorney's investigator Jessica "Jess" Cobb (Julia Roberts) go about their day in the office.
Newly hired assistant DA Claire Sloan (Nicole Kidman), an attractive Harvard graduate, is getting Ray's attention. Jess is pushing Ray to ask Claire out, to Ray's disapproval, since Claire recently became engaged to a guy named Ellis (Ross Partridge).
While Jess and Ray bicker, they receive a call about an unknown female's body found in a dumpster near the Al-Ankara mosque. Ray and his colleagues have been investigating the Al-Ankara mosque for possible terrorist links.
Arriving on the scene, Ray takes the first look at the body, and he's deeply shocked that it's Jess's 18-year-old daughter, Carolyn (Zoe Graham) -- she was raped, brutally killed, and bleached inside and out so there would be no DNA evidence. Jess is utterly devastated.
Ray feels guilt-ridden about what happened to Carolyn -- he and Carolyn were planning a surprise birthday party for Jess, and they were supposed to meet at a bakery, but Ray was unable to show up because of his job. Two hours after they were supposed to meet, Carolyn's body was found. She was last seen outside the bakery.
During the investigation, Jess feels the increasing need to move away from the city. While helping Jess pack, Ray notices pictures from the police station's picnic day, and a young man staring at Carolyn in all the photos.
After Ray finds no leads with the police officers for the identity of the young man, causing intense frustration, he begins scanning the system for a matching photo. He finds a match.
Ray tells D.A. Martin Morales (Alfred Molina) that Anzor Marzin (Joe Cole), the man in the picture, is the killer, but Morales is reluctant to go after Marzin. Morales is desperate to nail the sleeper cell that they're after at the mosque so Los Angeles won't have its own 9/11 attack. Morales sees Marzin as important to making a case against the terrorists.
Morales says that the counter-terrorism work that they're doing comes before anything else, and then fellow cop Reggie Siefert (Michael Kelly) says that he has brought in a suspect named Aban Ghazala (Amir Malaklou). Ray interviews Ghazala, and realizes that he's not the killer.
A furious Ray heads to the weight room where Siefert is working out, and forces him to admit that the main in the pictures is Marzin. Siefert had brought Ghazala in to throw Ray off of Marzin's trail, because Marzin is Siefert's snitch at the mosque.
Ray realizes that Detective Guerrero, the detective assigned to the case, knew that Marzin is the killer, and didn't do anything, because Guerrero knows that Marzin is an informant. Before leaving the weight room, Ray ends up punching Siefert.
Ray gets Detective Bumpy Willis (Dean Norris) to help him investigate. At Marzin's home, the two find and recover a suspicious-looking comic book, within which they find a pattern that reveals Marzin's location -- he goes to Los Angeles Dodgers games.
Marzin is tracked down at Dodger Stadium, and arrested. Bumpy ends up with a knee injury in the chase. Claire argues with Ray over his methods, citing the evidence as inadmissible because of improper protocol and conflict of interest.
Claire almost releases Marzin during his interrogation, but hesitates and changes her mind when she catches Marzin attempting to look under her blouse. Claire taunts Marzin, leading him to unzip his pants, expose himself, and attack Claire, while saying things that prove that he's the man who raped and killed Carolyn. Ray beats Marzin, who is let go by Morales because of his status as an informant against the terrorists.
Jess, Claire, and Ray argue with Morales, who refuses to pursue the case because he doesn't want to lose an informant who can help him nail the terrorists. After his release, Marzin's van is found burned, destroying all evidence against him. Jess, Claire, and Ray know that Morales had the van torched so he could keep Marzin as an informant.
With the loss of her daughter, Jess becomes a tormented shell of who she was, and she regresses into anti-social behavior. Ray vows to never stop looking for Marzin, but he transfers to the private sector, and gets a job in security.
Now, thirteen years later, Ray, who now works as head of security for the New York Mets, returns to Los Angeles. Ray and Claire are reunited once again, their attraction now obvious. Claire is now the D.A., and Jess, who is still a shell of who she once was, is Claire's top investigator.
Ray has uncovered a new lead on Marzin that he feels can permanently resolve the case. Ray has found a man named Clay Beckwith (Joe Cole), who looks a lot like Marzin. He thinks Beckwith is Marzin using a false name. Jess insists that the matter is closed.
The investigation, which includes a few chases, leads Ray to Beckwith, and a shootout with Beckwith leads to Siefert getting killed. Beckwith and his men are arrested, and Jess says that Beckwith is not Marzin. Ray says that Siefert needed to answer to Carolyn for trying to protect Marzin 13 years ago.
When Ray and Claire pay a visit to Jess's isolated farmhouse, Jess says that she found and killed Marzin 13 years ago, just a couple of months after Ray left. Jess says that after Morales had Marzin's van torched and the evidence in it destroyed, she knew that Morales would not ever let Marzin go down for killing Carolyn.
When Ray later follows Jess to her barn, he discovers that her claim that she killed Marzin was intended to cover up the fact that, for the past 13 years, she has been holding Marzin in a cage in the barn. For the past 13 years, Jess has been making Marzin suffer for what he did to Carolyn.
Marzin begs Ray to ask Jess to talk to him. Ray, who sympathizes with Jess, pulls out his gun, and leaves it with Jess, as he goes outside and starts digging a grave. Ray hears Jess firing a shot that kills Marzin, and Jess walks outside the barn, and gives Ray a look of relief, while Claire officially closes Carolyn's case.

Tags: murder, flashback

Review:
Especially in this case, I think that keeping some of the core material and turning other parts completely around could have made for a fascinating narrative, unfortunately the American remake, with the exception of maybe two or three ides, doesn't improve, explore or further the original in anyway and sometimes even edges the shot-by-shot remake treatment.Look, this isn't a terrible thriller, but the emotional beats you are carried through are just the same of the original, it really seemed to be watching a cheap version of it.
The score is something that positively sticks out and probably the purest good thing to come out of the film.In the end we are treated to a fine thriller that doesn't live up to its potential and only manages to justify its length thanks to memories of the original and the same emotions instead of relevant improvement and originality..
I have it on my list to watch but in my opinion, if you like thrillers and movies with some twists and turns and want to be entertained I recommend giving it a chance..
And once you have realised the error of your ways we will watch the original and realise that having to read and watch a film isn't the end of the world and even better, opens you up to the idea that the action, the great stories, the films that treat the viewer as an adult, generally, don't come out of Hollywood anymore.
Kept my interest the whole time, all the leads were strong and believable, never a big Julia Roberts fan, she was outstanding in this, I certainly don't agree with the reviewers that said Nicole Kidman was miscast, I thought she was excellent, you don't get to be an A grade Academy Award winner by being a bad actress!
When I saw the cast list, which includes Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and the brilliant Chiwetel Ejiofor I thought I was in for ninety minutes of sheer quality, you can forgive me for thinking that, when you take into account the number of awards shared by the stars, the budget, and the pedigree of the original movie.
I haven't seen the original so I can't compare the two movies but knowing Hollywood's track record with remakes, the Argentinian version would have been a superior production.In 2002, a team of FBI investigators including Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts) along with a newly arrived district attorney, Claire (Nicole Kidman), are based in Los Angeles to prevent terrorists from inflicting more damage to the American way of life after 9/11 the previous year.
With a cast of prominent Oscar winners involved, 'Secret in their Eyes' should have been much more than what it ended up being - a struggling thriller that failed to boil.I must admit that I am not familiar with the 2009 release of the Argentinian Oscar winning film, 'El secreto de sus ojos' so it would be unfair of me to directly compare the two but by all reports it is a thoroughly recommended thriller worthy of the accolades that it received at the time of its release.
Ray is now in private security, Jess is still with the Fed's and Claire is now the District Attorney of L.A. The events of the past have haunted all three but with Ray's determination, he relentlessly pursues the case that had such a disastrous affect on him personally, hoping for justice and to right the wrongs of the past.'Secret in their Eyes' had such potential but it was let down by a story that cannot keep a constant flow.
Billy Ray gives the audience too much credit in thinking that they are following the events presented to them and on many occasions you could be forgiven for being confused about which time line the film is actually in.Roberts and Ejiofor are quite brilliant in their delivery of characters that are torn apart by a tragic event.
The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Dean Norris.
I saw the original movie, and it's a much better film!Two FBI agents, Ray (Ejiofor) and Jess (Roberts), are investigating the scene of a murder, when they discover that Jess's daughter (Zoe Graham) is the victim.
He comes back to Los Angeles, after leaving the FBI, and asks his old supervisor (Kidman), who he's also long had feelings for, to reopen the case.The original Argentine film was fantastic; I gave it 4.5 stars (out of 5), back when I first saw it (in 2010).
Secret in their eyes (2015) is a pretty well made film, it's definitely well acted, great performances by all the cast including: Julie Roberts, Chiwetel, and Nicole Kidman, they all have very real powerful performances.
If there was ever a prime example of a harmless yet utterly pointless Hollywood remake of a much better yet underseen foreign film it's Billy Ray's Secret in Their Eyes, a thriller that crashed and burned upon release late last year in the midst of a barely there marketing campaign and reviews that were middling at best, despite an awards friendly named cast and a story that should've been exhilarating only to end up as a sporadically intriguing mystery.Before delving any further into the occasional virtues of Ray's film (who's never really gone the next step from his breakout Shattered Glass from 2003), those that've never seen Juan José Campanella's Academy Award winning 2009 film of the same name from Spain should stop reading right now and seek it out as it's one of the finest thrillers of the modern era with its standout out scripting, frenetic action scenes (a soccer stadium chase is breathtaking in its design), outstanding cast and final reveal that will leave jaws dropping on floors.This Hollywood update of the original try's to relive many of the originals past glories like the incendiary final reveal and even the stadium foot chase, this time transported to a disappointing baseball stadium setting, but the film feels somewhat lethargic overall and revelations and confronting situations that simmered in the 2009 film merely fizzle here despite the best effort of its loaded cast.Filling in the role that was once earmarked for Denzel Washington, Chiwetel Ejiofor is the films anchor as determined investigator Ray Kastan and he acquits himself well to a fairly intense role but struggles to draw out sufficient chemistry with his female co-stars Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts, who continue on with their recent forgettable efforts with turns that required their experienced skill sets to do a little more with what they were given even though Ray's plotting of the storyline leaves much to be desired with its flash back structure, even the films big finish is somewhat hampered by some sloppy editing that intrudes on the present moment.At its heart, Secret in Their Eyes has an extremely appealing narrative that helps cover up many of this particular incarnation's left wanting deliveries but it can't help override the fact that this unnecessary remake isn't even a patch on its foreign forefather and quite clearly wasn't as appealing to western audiences as the studio obviously thought it would've been.2 ½ limping Hank's out of 5.
Ejiofor plays Ray, an FBI agent determined to find the killer, and he plays it dark with touches of light humor, that allows us to like the character more, even as he juggles his obsession with the case with his attraction to the new DA, Claire played by Nicole Kidman.
Ejiofor also showcases this balance as he investigates the case with Bumpy Willis, played by Dean Norris of Breaking Bad fame.Julia Roberts gave a great performance in the film as the mother whose daughter was murdered and also happens to be a fellow FBI investigator.
The biggest Mystery in this Movie is how an A-Lister, a Remake of an Oscar Winning Film (Best Foreign Film 2009), with two Oscar Winning Actresses on board (Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts), a Director, Oscar Nominee Billy Ray, and an intense Leading Man (Chiwetel Ejiofor) also an Oscar Nominee, can produce such a Dull Movie.
The transitions of scenes are horrible, Julia Roberts looked and Nicole kidman looked the same as if they didn't really age in 13yrs.The story itself is suspenseful, however it leads to a pretty crappy ending.
I can't help but wonder how much of this type of opinion has gone into 'The Secret in Their Eyes', or are people just seeing it for what it really is - a subpar movie.I'd neither seen, nor even heard of the original version before seeing this one so I went in with no preconceived notions or ideas of how the story would play out.
The story itself is interesting enough to pull it through though and the star power of Julie Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor is enough to cover up a lot of the faults.However, you can tell the movie is depending a lot on its "twist" to win viewers over.
So in all, Secret in Their Eyes isn't a bad film, it just ultimately ended up being a forgettable one.+Ejiofor+Flashbacks prove effective-Story never popped-Romance5.3/10.
After watching it, the next day when I returned the film, he handed me a recent American remake of the same movie by Billy Ray, staring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts.
Other than knowing that the movie was a remake/adaptation of the 2009 Academy Award winner for Foreign Film, I was not familiar with the story or plot line before seeing "Secret In Their Eyes" last Saturday, nor had I seen the 2009 Argentinian film.
(By the way, my vote for the worst American remake/adaptation of a foreign film goes to 1993's "The Vanishing", which not only utterly fails to approach the dread and suspense of the 1988 Dutch original but also wastes a cast that includes Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, and Sandra Bullock, in an early role.).
This remake brings the story to US audiences with some changes to make it more relatable.I'm not one who wants to give away spoilers, but I will say you've never seen Julia Roberts in a role quite like this one.
The remake is written and directed by Billy Ray. The film stars Chewital Ejifor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts and Dean Norris.
It took me a long time to get up the interest to watch The Secret in Their Eyes.I just figured it wouldn't be any good.But I also didn't realize has this all star cast.When i found out Julia Roberts,Nicole Kidman and Chiwetel Ejiofor were in it,I decided to watch it.I started out hesitating to believe it would be any good.It took me five minutes to get hooked.Julia Roberts outright stunned me with her performance.I've always liked her but i've never seen her this intense.She devoured her character and spit it out with audacity.I felt for her every step of they way,feeling every emotion,understanding every nuance of her multi dimensional real world personality.Nicole Kidman is as beautiful as ever,although I have always preferred Julia Roberts unique features.Kidman captivates with her solid yet somehow fragmented personality.she seemed not whole...some fire inside that died long ago.Its very clear why by the end.Chiwetel Ejiofor is a favorite of mine anyways but his performance in this in my opinion puts him in the big leagues.The ending is so awesome I will not ever forget it.I've never seen the original movie so i had no idea what to expect.I finished the movie with a feeling of great satisfaction.
for once, i agree with my fellow reviewers;Secrets is full of good stuff, Julia Roberts is fantastic (in some scenes, and not so much in some others, due to how much her character changes halfway through the film), Chiwetel Ejiofor does a great job, Nicole Kidman does the same thing she does in every film she's ever been in, and even the production is great.But unfortunately, as Yahtzee says, this film flows like a river of bricks.
When something happens, it's masterfully done, but the other half of the film should have been cut out and left on the cutting room floor.note that i did not see the original and i am valuing this film exclusively on its own merits.I would still recommend Secret In Their Eyes, but my advice is, you will come out thinking this could have been so much better; imho, a solid rewrite based on Julia Roberts could have won her an Oscar.My vote: 7/10 - so much good stuff, watered down..
Julia Roberts' acting in this is incredible and one of the best performances I have seen by her but I really didn't feel a connection to this movie for some reason.
FBI investigators Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts), along with District Attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman) are suddenly torn apart when Jess' teenage daughter Carolyn (Zoe Graham) is brutally murdered.
The idea behind the plot isn't too overly complex as it involves Ray (Ejiofor) and Claire (Kidman) trying to find Jess' (Roberts) daughter's killer and bringing them to justice.
Julia Roberts had the best performance in this movie in my opinion, the most difficult one and she did a great job, while Chiwetel Ejiofor was reliable as usual and Dean Norris was just another reincarnation of Hank Schrader - i miss that guy.
His chemistry with Nicole Kidman was also on point and every time they were on screen together, I was waiting for sparks to fly.If you like thrillers, mixed with a little drama and an ending with a helluva payoff (it's all about the facial expressions in those last minutes) I highly recommend checking out Secret in Their Eyes..
Hum, I wondered after all the years she kept him alive, did she allow him to wash himself up, change his clothes once in a while otherwise he would stink so bad that she would not be able to stay near him.I liked tension and sexual chemistry between Chiwetel Ejiofor {Ray} and Nicole Kidman {Claire}.
Julia Roberts proves she is more than just a pretty face and Kidman gives an understated performance and allows the cast to take front and centre.I scored it 8 as I thought the pace a little too slow and the backwards and forwards in time , so beloved by some directors, didn't quite work for me.
Nevertheless Secret in Their Eyes is a good movie but like I said almost completely the same as the Argentinian version.
Writer/director Billy Ray assumed a threatening role when he set about to re-write and direct the superb Argentine film "El secreto de sus ojos" – the tense script by Juan José Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri - and though the stories do not compare, the film is a strong one, largely due to a cast and cinematographer that would be difficult to improve.2002: Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess Cooper (Julia Roberts) are two investigators in a private police unit led by the DA.
No chemistry between actors, feels like a typical American run-of-the mill police movie whereas the original is much much more (Argentinian 70's era, love-story, human condition, ...).
Chiwetel Ejiofor is a retired counter terrorism expert obsessed with a cold case from 2002 just after the post 9/11 hysteria which involved the brutal murder of the daughter of his colleague Jess (Julia Roberts.)He returns 13 years later and meets up with the District Attorney of LA, Claire (Nicole Kidman) a woman who he was smitten with many years earlier and both of whom thought they had captured the main suspect but he was released as the authorities felt he was needed to fight domestic terrorism.Jess on the other hand has been worn down all these years, losing her daughter and knowing the likely suspect is protected.
Review: I really enjoyed this emotional movie, mainly because of the great performances by the whole cast, and the suspense throughout the film.
Its quite an intelligent suspense/thriller with some brilliant performances from Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and the dark setting of the film, set the tone for the emotional events that touched each of the investigators.
Enjoyable!Round-Up: I'm surprised that this movie made such a small profit at the box office, because there were some top actors in the cast and the original Secret in Their Eyes won an Oscar for best foreign film.
Whilst making the movie, Julia Roberts mother died, so a lot of the feelings towards her character from the cast, was real.
Now, 13 years later, the FBI agent on the team believes he has tracked down the killer, and intends to settle the score.A remake of the 2009 Spanish movie "The Secret in Their Eyes" (original title: "El secreto de sus ojos").
The sentimentality feels superficial, the characters one-dimensional and the relationships contrived.All-star cast (Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dean Norris, Alfred Molina, Michael Kelly) all seem subdued in their roles, as if director Billy Ray was figuring less-is-more in terms of creating intrigue.
Even though it was not a bad film, I somewhat enjoyed, maybe because I haven't seen the other version.The actors were great, but it was Chiwetel Ejiofor's film, He dominated the screenspace, and Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts were slightly disappointed with their small roles.
In 2002, Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jessica Cobb (Julia Roberts) are investigators in L.A. Claire Sloane (Nicole Kidman) is the new lawyer in the D.A.'s office.
Like many a dull screenplay, there's no significant action (that tells us why we'll want to watch this story) prior to the plot kicking in....The film left me with a few thoughts...how brave it was for Julia Roberts to look so dowdy and how Nicole Kidman can actually be okay when she plays herself (being a flirty muse).
Secret in Their Eyes is a remake of a well drawn out Argentinian film known as El secreto de sus ojos, so a lack of originality is apparent, but only to those who're aware of it.
Jess (Ms. Roberts) is an investigator who works with FBI Agent Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Assistant District Attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman), and a blustering District Attorney played by Alfred Molina.
Yesterday I have watched the movie " secret in their eyes " starring Julia Roberts and nicole kidman.