Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie Review

From the book to the screen...again...and without an article at the front.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 25, 2016

Secret in Their Eyes is based on the book El secreto de sus Ojos by Juan Jose Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri that was previously adapted into the Spanish-language film The Secret in Their Eyes, Director Juan José Campanella's fantastic 2009 picture that earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. The re-imagining is directed by Billy Ray (Breach) and features an all-star cast, but it's a decidedly inferior product in every way. Emotionally vacant, content to adhere to procedure, and banking on actor skill alone to flesh out the story, it's a far cry from the 2009 classic and a disappointing misappropriation of otherwise terrific talent in a movie that didn't need an English language re-imagining to begin with.

Devastated.

The film alternates between two timelines, the present day and the year 2002, only months following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Ray Karsten (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a counter-terror specialist who works alongside Investigator Jess Cobb (Julia Roberts) and Assistant District Attorney Claire Sloan (Nicole Kidman). While working on a high priority terror case, Ray and Jess discover the unthinkable at a crime scene: Jess' daughter, dead. Jess is understandably devastated. Ray and Claire make finding the killer their top priority. As the investigation unfolds over the years, Jess has retreated and Ray and Claire have developed a romantic interest in one another. But their investigation will lead them to a startling discovery that will challenge their personal values and professional ethics alike.

Secret in Their Eyes earns a vulnerable, wounded performance from Julia Roberts, but its all star cast -- which includes stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Nicole Kidman and a couple of high profile supporting actors in Dean Norris and Alfred Molina -- fails to run with what is admittedly flat material. There's an unmistakable sense of procedure to the movie, a dullness that permeates most every scene save for its most highly charged and high impact moments, two of which center around Julia Roberts and the other an interrogation scene with Nicole Kidman who goes to a dark place to get the greatest emotional response from the moment. The film is never capable of filling in the gaps with material that offers a reasonable rate of return. It slogs through the motions, spiking high in those critical moments but slinking back far too low and deep to maintain interest. The movie does manage a positive balancing act in its timeline shifts, assembling the story both in the present and in 2002, tying them together with an effortless flow that at least keeps the audience aware of the when's and what's and who's.

Director Billy Ray, who also penned the screenplay, leans too heavily on a support structure that only seems to get in the way without adding much to the plot, central to which is a touch-and-go tease of a romance that doesn't add any serious heft to an otherwise bleak story of pain and revenge. Ejiofor and Kidman manage to pull a fair bit of chemistry out of the angle, though thanks entirely to their skill rather than their script. Supporting characters are drawn with a shocking flatness about them that doesn't allow any of them to serve as anything more than background filler that only propels the story forward rather than flesh it out. The one exception: Joe Cole as key figure Marzin during a key scene he shares with Kidman (referenced above). Maybe without the original in the wild this movie might have ranked marginally higher, but even in a vacuum its ability to take a great premise, and an equally strong cast, and do so little with so much at its disposal makes for the most interesting part of the movie.

Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Coming back to 1080p Blu-ray for full review duty after about a week of strict UHD Blu-ray viewing and reviewing, with only some shorter bursts of 1080p thrown in for comparison, feels good, in a way -- it's always nice to settle back into a comfort zone -- but with eyes adjusted to sharper detail and more robust colors, it is, at the same time, more than a little disconcerting. Universal's 1080p Blu-ray presentation of Secret in Their Eyes, sourced from a digital shoot, certainly leaves a little to be desired, not only considering the absence of UHD's higher resolution and HDR's wider color gamut, but even considering its position in the 1080p realm where it struggles to keep up with the front end of the pack. Colors push an over saturated shading. Reds are run very hard, and black crush is frequent. Details are fair, but can be soupy. Faces often lack definition and look downright pasty in places. Chiwetel Ejiofor's forehead and beard in the UHD release of The Martian, for example, spring to life with all sorts of intimate definition. Here, they're rather flat, lifeless surfaces. A few close-ups even push slightly smeary. Basic clothing and environmental details are adequately sharp and general image clarity satisfies. Source noise is visible for much of the runtime, but other issues like banding and macroblocking are non-factors.

Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Secret in Their Eyes offers a good all-around DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's not particularly dynamic or intense, but it satisfies the movie's needs with good definition and attention to detail. Music isn't a constant companion, but its intermittent usage is met with nicely detailed notes along the range and easy come spacing across the front, with a light back channel support element. The track features a plethora of little supportive details that emanate from all over the stage, peeking out of speakers here and there for the duration. Light office clatter, chirping birds, distant PA announcements coming from a racetrack, and other little tidbits help to sonically shape the movie's environments. A few more aggressive and immersive elements are to be found throughout as well, including stage-immersing crowd cheers at a Dodgers game or a heavy, rumbling prison door that slides off to the side. A handful of gunshots come up short of authentic but offer enough oomph to get by. Dialogue is well prioritized and plays with natural clarity and dominant center placement.

Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Secret in Their Eyes contains two brief featurettes and an audio commentary track. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• Adapting the Story for Today's World (1080p, 1:59): A quick look at retelling the "American" version of the story, actor intensity, and plot basics.
• Julia Roberts Discusses Her Most Challenging Role (1080p, 3:23): Roberts speaks on the emotional depth of her performance in a key scene and her real-life husband's work shooting it. The piece ends with the scene presented in its entirety.
• Audio Commentary: Director/Screenwriter Billy Ray and Producer Mark Johnson offer a good all-around track discussing themes, cast and performances, shooting locations, visual effects, changes from the original movie, the movie's timeline shifts, and plenty more.

Secret in Their Eyes Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Secret in Their Eyes has a lot going for it -- namely great source material and a stellar cast -- but it's remarkably good at doing nothing with the bounty laid before it. Roberts and Kidman manage a few good moments, but the movie lacks much of an emotional draw, a steady pace, or even purpose. Universal's Blu-ray offers decent 1080p video, a good but hardly memorable lossless soundtrack, and a supplementary package that includes a commentary track and two very brief featurettes. Pick up the original classic instead.