Secret in Their Eyes

Based on a film that probably didn’t merit an American remake in the first place, Secret in Their Eyes nevertheless doesn’t improve upon the original.

The source material is an Oscar-winning 2009 Argentinian thriller that had some nice surprises within its far-fetched premise. This star-studded version isn’t as taut or suspenseful by comparison.

The story begins in 2002 in Los Angeles, when young FBI partners Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts) investigate a random brutal murder in which the deceased turns out to be her daughter. With their supervisors so focused on potential terror attacks, the case gets handed to a fellow neophyte, Claire (Nicole Kidman), and lost in the shuffle.

Flash forward 13 years, and Claire is a district attorney listening to Ray, now a private-sector security agent who has been obsessing over the case ever since, provide his latest update on his rogue attempts to track down the killer.

Beleaguered by the constant false hope, Jess remains grief-stricken and withdrawn. Ray pleads with Claire to revisit the case in order to bring closure and justice, unaware of some dark secrets that are complicating his efforts.

At least the three actors bring depth and complexity to the material, generating some intriguing character dynamics that enliven some of the formulaic tendencies in the screenplay by director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass). Still, Kidman and Roberts don’t seem stretched to their full abilities.

For the most part, it’s a standard procedural framed as a crusade for truth and justice, filled with murky clues, hints of police corruption, cloudy motives, red herrings, and other diversionary tactics. The politically charged post-9/11 backdrop doesn’t resonate in terms of heightened tension from public paranoia.

Some of the details have been changed from the original, such as the location of an exciting foot chase through a crowded stadium (here, it’s baseball instead of soccer). There are some moderately clever twists along the way, but the film works better in its quieter moments.

Secret in Their Eyes is a mediocre potboiler that trots out familiar themes of obsession and revenge, tossing in some contrived sexual tension while building to a climax that might elicit more shrugs than gasps.

Rated R, 111 minutes.