SECRET IN THEIR EYES

Based on a 2009 Argentinian novel by author Eduardo Sacheri, this sinister crime thriller is a performance-driven film boasting a stellar cast including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman.

FBI detectives Ray (Ejiofor) and Jess (Roberts) and District Attorney Supervisor Claire (Kidman) are shattered when Jess’s daughter has been savagely murdered. Ray, who is obsessed with the case, returns 13 years later with a lead which may lead to a conviction.

Emotionally charged performances from Ejiwetel and Roberts are engaging and maintain audience interest in a story which is tediously slow to build with many twists and turns.

Joe Cole is effective in the role of Marzin, the most disturbing and memorable villain since Anthony Hopkins’ portrayal of Dr Hannibal Lecter in Silence Of The Lambs.

Adversely, the style in narrative is disconcerting at times, as the constant jumping to different time frames arouses confusion as to whether the story is in the past or present.

The romantic subplot between Ray and Claire also seems pointless, a time-filler which could have been shortened and streamlined the film considerably.

A satisfactory thriller in which amateur sleuths may resolve the crime before all is revealed in the astonishing finale, through hints in dialogue cleverly dispersed throughout. (MMo)

***1/2