Review by Jenny Priestley
Stars Ricardo Darin, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, Carla Quevedo, Barbara Palladino, Rudy Romano, Alejandro Abelenda, Mario Alcarcon, Guillermo Francella
Written by Juan Jose Campanella
Certification UK 18 | US R
Runtime 129 minutes
Directed by Juan Jose Campanella
On March 7 this year, few people expected Argentinian director Juan Jose Campanella to walk off with the Academy Award for Foreign Film. He had little chance of beating A Prophet or The White Ribbon, didn't he? Well Oscar voters obviously thought differently, and I'm pleased they did. It's taken a while for the film to arrive on British screens, but it's well worth the wait.
The Secrets in Their Eyes is a thriller which follows the same set of characters through two timelines: 1999 and 25 years earlier. Ex-lawyer Benjamin Esposito is dealing with retirement by writing a novel about a case that's always stayed with him; a young woman who was brutally raped and murdered in her own home. The film flips between the two times as we see Esposito attempt to solve the case while also dealing with his growing attraction for his female boss.
The story copes well with the switching timeline, it's easy to know which where you are in the story by seeing how grey Esposito is. It's also a touching love story as we see him trying to deal with his feelings for his married superior. It weaves around before finally returning to 1999 where we see the consequences of everyone's actions.
It's very well acted, particularly by Darin as Esposito and Villamil as the object of his affection and is shot beautifully. In particular there's a scene involving a chase through a crowd watching a football match which is quite breathtaking (in both its pacing and technical proficiency).
This is a film that thoroughly deserved its accolade and deserves to find an audience even more.