The Secret In Their Eyes

This film is © by Sony Picture Classics, 2010

Starring:

Ricardo Darin as Benjamín Esposito
Soledad Villamil as Irene Menéndez Hastings
Pablo Rago as Morales
Javier Godino as Gómez

Directed by: Juan Campanella

RATING:

This film proved to be quite an interesting movie experience. For the most part it was good although I felt it lost some of its thunder towards the end. It is quite a unique story where the viewer does not what to expect and the characters don’t always do what you think they will do. It is murder mystery story with intrigue and suspense yet at the same time a great deal of humor which I must say is not easy to pull off. This film makes it work and it’s delightful to see how it goes from very serious and tense to completely silly and funny. You have to see it to believe it.

The characters of Benjamin and Irene are central to the plot of this film. Benjamin is a police detective who takes unorthodox means in solving crimes often time getting himself in trouble. Irene is his boss who has to deal with the crazy stunts he pulls of yet at the same time appreciates his determination. The film is told in retrospect, where we see the lives of these two characters develop from when Irene is first hired straight out of college to when Benjamin retires and begins to write a book which is the subject of the film. The two characters are very good friends in the end and its neat to see how that builds up over time.


This film was rather unique in subject matter. It involves the retelling of a horrible crime yet how it unfolds is rather bizarre. Also there was a point in the film where I thought if it had ended there it would have been better. The last 20 minutes kind of drag a bit and spin a new twist to the plot which I did not like and thought was unnecessary. I felt at some point Benjamin needed to let go yet he kept going. Too bad otherwise I would have though this film great and not just very good.

Overall this movie was a joy to watch although I don’t think it’s for everyone. While the act of the horrible crime involved is not dwelt on too much the film does deal with a heavy subject. There is definitely a dark element to this movie, even when it is being funny. Still, not totally heavy handed and does not make too strong of an impression on the viewer that would be disturbing. If you want to see something different from the everyday Hollywood stuff this is one option to consider.