A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their
supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own
teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.
Director:
Billy Ray
Writers:
Billy Ray (screenplay), Juan José
Campanella(film "El secreto de sus ojos")
Stars:
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia
Roberts
Storyline
A tight-knit team of rising investigators - Ray and Jess, along
with their supervisor Claire - is suddenly torn apart when they discover that
Jess's teenage daughter has been brutally and inexplicably murdered. Now,
thirteen years later, after obsessively searching every day for the elusive
killer, Ray finally uncovers a new lead that he's certain can permanently
resolve the case, nail the vicious murderer, and bring long-desired closure to
his team. No one is prepared, however, for the shocking, unspeakable secret
that will reveal the enduring, destructive effects of personal vengeance on the
human soul.Written by STX Entertainment
Reviews
Completing the triangle character dynamic are Ray and Claire
(Kidman), but the shape fails to show its strength. Ray is said to have been
analyzing headshots for 13 years, yet we're shown him doing such for less than
15 seconds, while outside the case his obsessiveness is seen in his constant,
though refreshingly unsuccessful, advances on Claire. At proverbial tip of this
triangle would be the district attorney, her lawful ideals challenged by Jess
and Ray's constant, and illegal, pursuit for revenge. But here in lies the
crucial flaw of the dynamic's downfall: Claire, despite embodying
righteousness, never has a scene to fully question and dissect the combination
of relatable thirst for repentance and the legal restrictions that protect the
guilty. To that, where the trailer suggested moments in which Jess addresses
this, the film basically cuts them in during a final blatantly explanatory
montage—providing the previewed content but not the expected substance.