Review of Secret in Their Eyes (2015) by Jessica M — 26 Nov 2015

This movie had potential in terms of initial concept but a weak script and wasted stars. It should have been Julia Roberts' story, the quest of an avenging mother, and we shouldn't have had to endure all of the flashbacks.

Instead it became Ejiofor's story, and his acting was superb, but it was hard to see why he was the protagonist when you juxtapose the depth of his grief to hers. His relationship with - and really the entire character - played by Nicole Kidman was distracting and unnecessary.

Some of the plot devices were completely implausible (a comicbook you never really see, violations of the law overlooked by the DA, a laughably weak case, etc.) The lives of the main characters seemed far less interesting in the present, and we, the audience, felt robbed by the fact we skipped so many years and crucial moments.

I expected this would be a movie about Julia Roberts' tracking down her daughter's killer, and it wasn't. Not really. It was slow and a bit boring. Roberts was jarringly unattractive in this movie.

It worked for the character, but she didn't get enough screen time to really show that through. Skip it in the theater, and rent it later.