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Storyline
2002: Ray Kasten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess Cooper (Julia Roberts) are two investigators in a private police unit led by the DA. When they receive an anonymous tip about a girl raped and killed, they rush to the scene. Ray realizes it is Jess' daughter and the team falls apart due to the grief. In 2015, Ray comes back to LA, and says that after 13 years, he has found a lead and convinces the DA to reopen the case. They find clues and leads unknown to them, and secrets from the past come to light as they start discovering the real, chilling truth. Meanwhile, Jess, dissatisfied with the law, decides to take matters into her own hands and track down the killer, no matter what lengths she has to go to.
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Motion Picture Rating
(MPAA)
Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving disturbing violent content, language and some sexual references
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Did You Know?
Goofs
In 2002 they drive a BMW E60 and by the looks of it it seems to be newer than LCI 2007. And in an inside scene it has the electronic gearbox which was introduced with this LCI.
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Quotes
Jess:
Life Sentence
Ray Kasten:
For you as well
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Soundtracks
Haunted
Performed by Maty Noyes
Written by
Stephan Moccio, Maty Noyes and
Billy Ray
Engineered by
Jay Paul Bicknell See more »
Greetings again from the darkness. Why, Billy Ray, why? It's not surprising that Hollywood green-lighted the Americanization of the 2010 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film, El secreto de sus ojos. That original from Argentina is exemplary filmmaking and a thoroughly entertaining and compelling mystery-thriller; a must-see for any true film lover. Even if an Oscar-studded cast is hired (2 Oscar winners, 8 nominations), the guiding inspiration for a remake should be more than losing the subtitles and filming Julia Roberts without make-up.
The story balances two timelines spanning 13 years. Jess (Ms. Roberts) is an investigator who works with FBI Agent Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Assistant District Attorney Claire (Nicole Kidman), and a blustering District Attorney played by Alfred Molina. When Jess' daughter is brutally murdered, the investigation is impacted by the suspect's role as a department snitch. When we catch up all those years later, the unrequited attraction between now former FBI Agent Ray and now DA Claire is as strong as ever; Jess' appearance is on par with someone suffering from a terminal illness, and the murder still hovers over these characters as if it had occurred last week.
It's a fascinating story that was handled superbly in the original, yet mostly comes across as uninspired in this latest project. At times, it's even a bit confusing in how the two eras are handled. The score from Emilio Kauderer and a couple of fine scenes from Ms. Roberts (although she gets no credit here for appearing sans-makeup) are the best parts of this one. Otherwise, Mr. Ejiofor (usually a fine actor) goes over-the-top, while Ms. Kidman is simply miscast and unable to generate the proficiency required for her position. Other support work comes courtesy of Dean Norris ("Breaking Bad"), Michael Kelly ("House of Cards") and Zoe Graham.
Other than lacking the grit and realism of the original, the editing and camera work (so exceptional in the first version) at times come off as amateurish this time around. The soccer/futbol sequence from the original is replaced with Dodgers baseball (Chavez Ravine and Vin Scully) and a link to former Manager Walt Alston. Normally that would be considered an improvement, but again, these fall short and fail to generate the necessary suspense. A weak impersonation of the famous long-tracking shot certainly doesn't help.
For anyone who hasn't seen writer/director Juan Jose Campanella's (an Executive Producer here) excellent original, this version from Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) might prove interesting enough; however, those same folks are strongly encouraged to instead track down the original, and experience the emotional depth and filmmaking expertise that made it such a worthy Oscar winner.