Secret in Their Eyes

UK Release Date: 26th February 2016

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 (www.imdb.com).

Director: Billy Ray 

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, Julia Robert, Michael Kelly, Dean Norris, Alfred Molina

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. There's no happy-go-luck tune here; a dark, slow ambiance fits the plot, as ex-FBI agent Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) believes he's found the killer to a close work-friend's daughter. Julia Roberts is sensational as the grieving parent, her expressions more powerful than any dialogue written. SiTE could do with some fining on the editing front, as two timelines (the events after the murder/present day investigation) are a little muddled. As the pieces start to add up (Kidman and Ejiofor's romance however, does not) the endgame is clear but fails to peak when crime/thrillers should. Roberts and Ejiofor unequivocally make SiTE worth watching for their raw performances. 

3/5