Secret Agent Gal Movie Reviews

The Town ****1/2

 

Boston boy Ben Affleck writes, directs and acts in The Town, a neighborhood crime thriller that captures his gritty, realistic hometown.  Affleck brings together superb actors as he weaves romance into a bank robbery tale. The Town complements his 2007 Gone Baby Gone.

Nominated for Best Supporting Actor, Jeremy Renner continues his Hurt Locker intensity, adding muscle and ruthlessness to the robbery team led by Doug MacRay (Affleck). Renner plays Jem, Doug’s ex-con brother-in-crime.

Doug leads the group with some wisdom and restraint, buoyed by the respect of the neighborhood boss and flower shop owner Fergie Colm (Pete Postlethwaite). A scowling Postlethwaite shucking the thorns off rose stems says it all.

Fergie knew Doug’s father Stephen (Chris Cooper in a brief, stirring role), now serving several life sentences for murders committed during a robbery. Fergie can see the father in the son. A “code of honor” exists in this fraternity of neighborhood crooks. Each one displays cleverness and courage in their own way as they carry out schemes masterminded by Fergie.

The laughing nun costumes are an especially nice touch as Doug's crew carries off several jobs with grim, violent aplomb.  The crew includes Slaine (Irish-American hip hopster Gloansky, who writes and performs Run It) and Desmond (Owen Burke).

Doug meets his love interest Claire (Rebecca Hall) in a unique way. Claire was taken hostage (Jem’s idea) after a recent bank robbery. It turns out she lives just a few blocks away from the heist crew. Jem wants her dead, so Doug volunteers to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t know too much.

Hall plays a yuppie bank manager who lives in blue collar Charlestown. She and Affleck weave a believable and passionate chemistry from the moment they meet at a laundromat. Doug woos Claire with understated conviction, faced for the first time with the human costs of his criminal escapades.

Affleck brings maturity and compassion to his role throughout. Doug’s day job in a stone yard is a front for his real identity as a blue collar criminal taking his shot at infamy and fortune.

The Town’s exciting climax features a heist from Fenway Park's cash room. Robert Elswit (Salt; Good Night, and Good Luck) provides memorable widescreen cinematography. Dylan Tichenor (Doubt; The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) edits neatly. Elswit and Tichenor also teamed up in There Will Be Blood.

Mad Men’s Jon Hamm stands out as determined FBI agent Frawley. The Good Wife’s shady D.A. Glenn Childs (Titus Welliver) is excellent as Frawley’s right hand man.

Gossip Girl Blake Lively is moving as junkie drug mule and mom Krista.

Solid screenplay reveals thoughtful themes. Is it possible to leave the criminal life behind? For fans of Affleck and crime thrillers with heart, The Town is worth seeing again.

If you like The Town, you might enjoy:  The Ghost Writer; The Secret in Their Eyes.

The Town 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 5 min

Cast Overview: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, John Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Slaine, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper

Director: Ben Affleck

Genres: Crime, Drama, Thriller

 

Conviction *****

 
Betty Anne Waters returns to college and law school to win her brother’s release from prison for a murder she believes he did not commit in the true life drama Conviction.

Best Actress Hilary Swank plays determined Betty Anne who raises her children while she studies and waitresses part time. Sam Rockwell brilliantly plays Kenny, a wild man known for bar fights, crazy stunts and bad luck.

Kenny and Betty Anne were poor, unsupervised kids in rural New England. The police knew them for pranks like shoplifting and sneaking into people’s trailers.

Sometimes the best films are based on real, hardscrabble folks like these who manage to squeeze sweetness from their lives.

What could have been a chick flick is brought down to earth immediately by Swank, Rockwell and an excellent cast. Actor-turned-director Tony Goldwyn (grandson of producer Samuel Goldwyn) keeps dramatic tension alive as Kenny’s innocence is doubted, testimony is questioned, and legal complications arise.

Only Conviction’s sound track is too precious for its honest look at class and criminal justice in America.

Rockwell has come a long way since Wild Bill Wharton served his last days on The Green Mile. Here the actor portrays Kenny throughout 18 years of hope and despair. The bright spot of his life, little sister Betty Anne, stubbornly defends him just as she did in childhood. Rockwell and Swank are luminous as brother and sister.

Best Supporting Actress Melissa Leo (The Fighter; Frozen River) is devastating as Nancy Taylor, a beat cop and the only woman on the force who seems to hate Kenny more than she does herself. Minnie Driver is superb as Abra Rice, the law school classmate who matter-of-factly befriends Betty Anne at a neighborhood bar.

Kenny’s ex-wife (Clea DuVall) and former lover (Juliette Lewis), both of whom helped put him away, perfectly embody shattered survivors. Ari Graynor conveys her mixed emotions as Kenny’s grown daughter Mandy.

Karen Young is heart wrenching as ill and bewildered Elizabeth Waters. Peter Gallagher plays Innocence Project director Barry Scheck, a busy idealist who assists Betty Anne after she manages to unearth long lost evidence.

Goldwyn shows restraint in not revealing Kenny’s fate after prison. For all its anguish, Conviction is a film that has earned its happy moment.

If you like Conviction, you might enjoy: The Fighter; The Town; Winter's Bone; True Grit.

Conviction 2010 / R / 1 hour, 47 min

Cast Overview: Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Melissa Leo, Clea DuVall, Peter Gallagher, Karen Young, Minnie Driver, Juliette Lewis, Ari Graynor

Director: Tony Goldwyn

Genres: Drama, Thriller, Drama Based on Real Life, Biopic

 

Hereafter *****

 

A reluctant psychic, a journalist and a boy chase the afterlife even when they want to run from it.  Clint Eastwood directs Hereafter, a passionate exploration of life after death.   

George Lonegan (Matt Damon) is a former psychic in San Francisco who is fed up with death and has returned to the practical trade of dock worker. Marie Lelay (Cecile de France) is a vacationing French journalist who gets caught in a tsunami. Marcus is a London boy whose twin brother dies in a truck accident (Frankie and George McLaren play both roles).

Where do we go after death? In Hereafter, Eastwood brings all the richness and wisdom of his mature vision to explore who we really are.

Shot by shot and scene by scene, the characters are portrayed with integrity and respect. Fascination grows as each one searches: George for happiness, Marie for truth, and Marcus for a link to his lost brother Jason.

Marie has the most to lose. After drowning and being revived (her personal encounter with the tsunami an impeccable part of movie history) she is changed. Fame and fortune vanish as she takes time off from her national news program to write a book about Francois Mitterrand. But soon a new book topic chooses her. Thierry Neuvic plays her fickle lover Didier.

George has abandoned his popular psychic website. It hurt too much. He wants to focus on life now, not on death. He no longer gives readings, he insists. Still, a few desperate souls manage to find him, thanks to his brother Billy (Jay Mohr) who urges George to be true to his gift.

The image of Damon’s big, burly hands briefly clasping those who seek him out is beautiful. In a world of psychic quacks, George seems to be the real deal. What is refreshing is his perspective. He can “connect” with those who have passed away, but affirms the importance of living here and now.

George lies on his bed each night, the words of his favorite author Charles Dickens wafting over him from the radio. His sensitivity and insights are rare, and he knows it.  Slowly, he realizes he must abandon blue collar work.

Bryce Dallas Howard plays Melanie, George’s perky cooking classmate and love interest. The Sopranos’ Steve Schirripa is delightful as sensitive Italian chef and class instructor Carlo.

 

The McLarens are up-and-coming actors to watch as Marcus evokes the tragedy of losing his best friend and twin. He wants neither sympathy nor understanding as he delves into the meaning of his loss. Lyndsey Marshal plays the boys’ addict mother.

In a sweeping climax, the paths of George, Marie and Marcus intersect at a London book fair. Eastwood, firm and self-effacing, helms a big story. His classical treatment of a spiritual theme makes the film great.

Until ten years ago, Eastwood was best known as action hero Dirty Harry Callahan. He began directing in the acclaimed Charlie Parker biography Bird (1988). Eastwood has created a succession of deep, fascinating films including: the Western Unforgiven (1992) which won an Academy Award for Best Picture; A Perfect World (1993); The Bridges of Madison County (1995); Absolute Power (1997); Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), and True Crime (1999).

More recently Eastwood directed Space Cowboys (2000); Mystic River (2003), and Million Dollar Baby (2004), which won Best Picture as well both the Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Director.

If you like Hereafter, you might enjoy:  Rabbit Hole; Up in the Air; Goodbye Solo.

Hereafter 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 9 minutes

Cast Overview: Cecile de France, Matt Damon, Bryce Dallas Howard, George McLaren, Frankie McLaren, Lyndsey Marshal, Jay Mohr

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genres: Drama, Thriller, Fantasy

 

The Social Network *****

 

Geeky contemporary classic The Social Network, a 2011 nominee for Best Picture, highlights early struggles of the popular website Facebook while showing the personal battles of its super-intelligent founders. Aaron Sorkin’s smart dialogue and screenplay are central in this drama.

The Social Network won Oscars for Best Film Editing,  Best Music (Original Score) and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay).  The film received Golden Globe awards for Best Motion Picture, Drama; Best Director; Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.

What’s stunning is how Jesse Eisenberg lives in the uneasy, socially taboo state of loneliness. Eisenberg is more than a misfit as he plays the socially stilted yet very human visionary and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. He shows us nothing less than the state of sabi, “the loneliness of the soul.”

Child-like in his blogging and programming, Eisenberg’s other-worldly focus on friendship and social status is like that of a wise old man. He’s the outsider who wants to be “in,” yet fiercely maintains his personal and intellectual independence as he looks inward. He revels and agonizes in it all at once. Can life be distilled onto a computer screen?

Eisenberg and co-star Andrew Garfield bring the techno-savvy pioneers and their high stakes maneuvering down to earth for the rest of us. As we travel with the pair from computer labs to campus parties to the courtroom, filmmaker David Fincher evokes the bittersweet taste of youth.

Garfield almost steals the show as Zuckerberg’s emotive (and only) buddy Eduardo Saverin. It’s Eduardo who funds and writes the business plan for “The Facebook.” A Best Supporting Actor nomination seems certain for Garfield’s angst-driven exploration of friendship, loyalty and brilliance.

What began in 2003 on a Fall night in the Harvard dorm room of computer programming major Zuckerberg has turned into a worldwide social and business phenomenon. His cold, online stunt to lash out at the girlfriend who dumps him (Rooney Mara) gains a record number of hits and crashes Harvard’s server.

Zuckerberg next meets the Winklevoss twins (both played by Armie Hammer), a pair of varsity rowing Golden Boys who hire him to build the social website The Harvard Connection. He is captivated by the idea, develops and runs with it in a much broader direction.

Could Zuckerberg foresee the mesmerizing effect that Facebook has on millions of viewers each day who, from the privacy of their own computers, seek to connect with others and enhance their personal and/or business status? It’s a way to belong that transcends social status, time and space while it mimics personal connection.

The obnoxious yet sympathetic hero leaves Harvard to become the world’s youngest billionaire, but not before he fights legal battles over intellectual property with friends and non-friends. Justin Timberlake does fine work as sleazy business adviser and Napster co-founder Sean Parker.

The Social Network contains many fictional details (including the breakup with girlfriend Erica). Zuckerberg and the tale’s other luminaries would not speak with Fincher.

Nevertheless the director succeeds in this film rich with history, biography and many layers of meaning beneath its action and story.

If you like The Social Network, you might enjoy: Greenberg; I'm Still Here; The Kids Are All Right.

The Social Network 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours

Cast Overview: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello, Rooney Mara, Rashida Jones, Bryan Barter, Dustin Fitzsimons

Director: David Fincher

Genres: Drama, History

Eat Pray Love ****1/2

 
 
 

Julia Roberts finds herself - and we rediscover her considerable talents -  in a rare “movie-is-better-than-the-book” travel adventure, Eat Pray Love.

Screenplay by director Ryan Murphy and Jennifer Salt redeems the navel-gazing memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. Revealing an inner adventure that drags at first, the film soon falls into natural rhythm as a world traveler faces her inner demons and searches for love.

Best of all, Eat Pray Love stars a Julia Roberts who shows up in nearly every scene. Abundant screen time allows Roberts to inhabit her character Liz, weave us into her anger and frustration, and reveal a radiant, smiling beauty. There’s no trace of the tight-assed Anna of Closer or Tess of Ocean’s Eleven. Instead we could be watching Mystic Pizza’s Daisy Arujo all grown up.

Roberts seems to be playing herself in the film which avoids becoming preachy or too New Agey. Instead Liz meets an array of honest, memorable characters as she learns to love herself during trips to Italy, India and Bali.

“Ruin is the path to transformation,” Liz finds. After a bitter divorce from sarcastic dreamer Stephen (perfectly played by Billy Crudup), she leaves a rebound-relationship with actor David (James Franco). Tarrying too long in New York City with her literary agent (Viola Davis), Liz finally she sets out, broke and alone.

The film’s rich atmosphere and scenery in all three countries is pleasurable. How big the world is, and how it puts our personal struggles into perspective.

In Italy, Liz indulges in food and abstains from sex. It’s her time to be in relationship with herself. She ruminates about her romantic failures while wolfing down Pizza Margherita in Napoli and enjoying prosciutto topped melon with a motley crew of natives and expatriates. The philosophical group, including new friend Sofi (Tuva Novotny), share interesting times, including a morning-after Thanksgiving turkey with extended family. What Liz takes away from her stay is gratitude – for her friends and for life.

A few pounds heavier, she heads to India and the ashram of David’s guru. Plunging herself into a regimen of chanting, vegetarian meals and 4:00 a.m. meditations, she meets Richard from Texas (raw, honest Richard Jenkins, a likely nominee for Best Supporting Actor). Filled with fear and skepticism, Liz is shown meditating just enough to give us the idea: accept whatever happens, and move on. Rushita Singh is memorable as a teenager who’s being forced into an arranged marriage.

Bali is where Liz reunites with a wise, eccentric shaman Ketut (irresistible Hadi Subiyanto) and befriends a healer Wayan (soulful Christine Hakim). It isn’t long before warm-hearted divorcee Felipe (Javier Bardem) nearly collides with the soul searcher. Roberts and Bardem are magical together onscreen.

Eat Pray Love is part of a new Hollywood tradition: the blockbuster film about self-discovery. The screenplay reportedly struck a chord with Roberts. The film’s team of producers includes Brad Pitt (Seven Years in Tibet; The Curious Case of Benjamin Button).

Eat Pray Love reveals an authentic side of Julia Roberts while it shows us how the real can become sublime.

If you like Eat Pray Love, you might enjoy: I Am Love; Wild Grass; Another Year.

Eat Pray Love 2010 / PG-13 / 2 hours, 15 minutes

Cast Overview: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, Viola Davis, Billy Crudup, Richard Jenkins, James Franco, Luca Spaghetti

Director: Ryan Murphy

Genres: Self-Discovery, Adventure, Travel, Romance

 

The American ****

 

George Clooney is The American, an assassin on a mission in Italy. With the intensity of Jason Bourne, he delivers an artful, exacting performance.

Although The American is a fascinating addition to Clooney’s work, but don’t expect the dark humor he’s known for in The Men Who Stare at Goats or O Brother, Where Art Thou? He’s dashing but dead serious. There’s no Daniel Ocean here.

The American is an arty film adapted from Martin Booth's novel A Very Private Gentleman. Its scenes and close-ups are beautifully composed, like paintings. Cinematographer Martin Ruhe venerates the beauty and culture of Italy even as Jack (aka Edward Butterfly) carries out his dirty, murderous mission.

Butterfly’s preparation is anything but dirty. Over a month he builds a gun and silencer with Zen-like discipline and concentration. With very little dialogue, Clooney keeps viewers fascinated with fastidious rituals (push-ups, chin-ups and daily coffee at a café).

Violante Placido (the daughter of Simoneta Stefanelli, who played Al Pacino’s Sicilian wife in The Godfather), delivers a classy performance as Clara, a prostitute who becomes Edward’s love interest. It is Placido who provides energy and a refreshing zest for life. Her bedroom scenes with Clooney arouse and thrill. Yet the uneasy feeling that Butterfly can trust no one persists.

Finally The American is about the meaning of one man’s life. Paolo Bonacelli as Father Benedetto is the catalyst who gets Edward thinking about what he does and why he does it. When Edward calls his boss Pavel (Johan Leysen) to announce that this is going to be his last mission, it comes as no surprise.

The American will appeal to seekers of a deep, thoughtful experience. It is a meditative character study that some – but not all – Clooney fans will enjoy. There is a quiet elegance to this film. Dutch director Anton Corbijn crafted it with great attention to detail.

The American has not won widespread critical acclaim. But it is the kind of film that a box office superstar like George Clooney can choose to make.

If you like The American, you might enjoy:  The Ghost Writer; Shutter Island; SALT.

The American 2010 / R / 1 hour, 45 min

Cast Overview: George Clooney, Thekla Reuten, Paolo Bonacelli, Violante Placido, Johan Leysen

Director: Anton Corbijn

Genres: Action, Adventure

Solitary Man ****1/2

 

Michael Douglas fans will enjoy his flawless performance as disgraced businessman Ben Kalmen in the darkly funny Solitary Man.

Hailed as giving his best performance since Wonder Boys and Wall Street, Douglas plays an unlikeable but irresistible car salesman in crisis. His doctor worries about Kalmen’s EKG, and orders further tests. Kalmen flees reality as he schmoozes, drinks and parties his way to near-oblivion. We meet him again six years later.

Kalmen is determined to do all the things he ever wanted to do in life, he tells his loyal ex-wife Susan Sarandon. For him this means cheating, lying, and even enjoying a one-night stand with the daughter (talented Imogen Poots) of his current girlfriend (Mary-Louise Parker).

Douglas brings much depth and charisma to his character Kalmen. Along his downward spiral he seeks to mentor a nerdy college student (Jesse Eisenberg), and reunites with an old buddy (Danny DeVito), who exudes wit and wisdom as he operates a diner. Yet Kalmen’s continued bad choices alienate almost everyone around him.

Jailed for his business transgressions at the height of his fame as “New York’s Honest Car Dealer,” Kalmen begs with panache from his daughter (Jenna Fischer) and ex-wife.

Solitary Man not only shows the personal costs of the ego run amuck in Kalmen’s sex addiction, but the human side of a detestable man. In the age of corporate malfeasance, Michael Douglas gives us insight into the scoundrel.

David Levien and Brian Koppelman (who wrote and directed Knockaround Guys and The Girlfriend Experience) direct this showcase for Douglas with the help of an excellent cast. Koppelman also wrote Solitary Man’s intelligent script.

Finally Sarandon and DeVito are the characters who genuinely understand and seek to help Ben. In his own twisty mind, Kalmen believes he is helping himself.

Douglas will reprise his role as Gordon Gekko in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010).

 

Solitary Man 2009 / R / 1 hour, 30 min

Cast Overview: Michael Douglas, Mary-Louise Parker, Jenna Fischer, Jenna Eisenberg, Imogen Poots, Susan Sarandon, David Costabile, Danny DeVito

Directors: David Levien, Brian Koppelman

Genres: Drama, Comedy

I Am Love *****

When her daughter’s passion splays beyond the expected, Emma Recchi (Tilda Swinton) hovers hummingbird-like. In a heartbeat, she could revert to her motherly role. Instead Swinton’s plunge into passion and sensuality reveals her parched soul in Luca Guadagnino’s breathless, primal drama I Am Love.

John Adams’ urgent, insistent soundtrack quickens as Emma’s household prepares for the birthday dinner of the family patriarch. Russian born but long ago married into the noble Milanese clan of Tancredi Recchi, Emma seems detached. She is pretty and attentive. During dinner, she listens dutifully. Her villa is run flawlessly by maids and butlers. Her grown children are beautiful and sensuous. Like any successful wife, Emma embodies the family’s soul.

The tension between old and new reveals itself early, as Edoardo Sr. announces his retirement. He leaves the family business not only to his loyal son Tancredi, but also to his idealistic grandson Edo (Flavio Parenti). Tancredi’s displeasure is evident, but Emma seems unable to comprehend such changes. She fulfills her role with grace. She seems content yet drained. As the festivities continue into the lush evening, Emma makes an excuse to go upstairs and lie down.

Sometimes our passion is right in front of us. Emma’s immersion in the fervent cuisine of Edo’s friend Antonio (Edoardo Gabbriellini) draws us with her into an out-of-body surrender to pleasure and possibility.

In terse pursuit one day, Emma follows Antonio. He spies her and invites her to his new restaurant. Here he can create flavors as nowhere else. Their sun-drenched passion soars amidst wildflower blooms and insects.

When Edoardo Sr. passes away, Tancredi quickly plans to sell off of the family’s textile mills. This will ensure spiraling profits. Edo’s angst cannot move his father. A too fresh faced advisor tells the family about its great good fortune in this new world. “It’s all in how you look at it.”

Meanwhile daughter Elisabetta (Alba Rohrwacher) revels in her relationships with women. She cuts her hair short. She loves going to art school and making new friends. Only brother Edo and mother Emma are her confidantes. Her passion is carefully hidden from the disapproving eyes of the Recchi family.

Guadagnino’s roil of upper crust passion, of old and new, spins into something remarkable. Beyond tragedy and bravery, I Am Love sails upon seas of beauty.

Swinton, who learned both Italian and Russian for this role, is voracious in a simply unforgettable final scene.

If you like I Am Love, you might enjoy: Black Swan; Wild Grass; An Education.

I Am Love 2009 / R / 2 hours

Cast Overview: Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Diane Fleri, Maria Paiato, Marisa Berenson

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Genres: Drama, Romance, Foreign

Language: Italian with English subtitles

 

Winter's Bone ****

 

A glacial chunk in the midst of this summer’s movie choices, Winter’s Bone is an unsettling bad dream, a grim tale that becomes mythic. It features the must see performance of Kentucky-born Jennifer Lawrence (The Burning Plain).

In Ree Dolly, Lawrence reveals a scrappy 17-year-old who shepherds her family on the brink of losing their home.

Winter’s Bone, which won Sundance’s Grand Jury Award, was nominated for four Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor (John Hawkes) and Best Writing (adapted screenplay). It also won Spirit Awards for best supporting male and female actors.

The film reveals “another America”: a land of poverty and ignorance, an Ozark mountain hell. The young adults of Ree’s world can escape this ghetto only by joining the Army, or by setting up a meth lab.

When drug-dealing Jessup jumps bail one day, he leaves the family home as collateral. The sheriff arrives. Unless Jessup can be found, the law wants to repossess the home where Ree lives with her catatonic mother and younger siblings Sonny and Ashlee (Isaiah Stone and Ashlee Thompson).

Ree decides to fight impending disaster. “I’ll find him,” she vows. Along the way, her worst enemies seem to be her father’s violent brother Uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes) and Merab (Dale Dickey), the wife of local crime boss Thump Milton.

Ree sets out on her odyssey with little emotion. Calmly she repeats to anyone who will listen – she needs to find her father’s whereabouts. Dead or alive, there is no blame. She aims only to save her family’s home.

Ree’s quest becomes her initiation. We reel in shock at what she is expected to do. Even the coldness of the hill folk’s criminal element thaws alongside the girl’s resolute stand.

Local residents served as actors. Director Debra Granik immersed herself in the culture for years before filming began. The film’s lighter moments include authentic Ozark folk singing and playing. Ree also teaches Sonny and Ashlee to count and shoot a rifle.

Lawrence’s next screen role will be in Jodie Foster’s dramedy The Beaver.

If you like Winter's Bone, you might enjoy:  Rabbit Hole; Black Swan; 127 Hours.

Winter’s Bone 2010 / R / 1 hr, 40 min

Cast Overview: Jennifer Lawrence, John Hawkes, Kevin Breznahan, Dale Dickey, Garret Dillahunt, Shelley Waggener, Lauren Sweetser

Director: Debra Granik

Genre: Drama

The Secret in Their Eyes *****

 
 

Argentinian romantic crime drama The Secret in Their Eyes was released in the U.S. after winning the 2010 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Writer-director Juan Jose Campanella has crafted thoughtfulness and humanity into this masterwork.

Graceful arcs of script are translated lovingly into story on film. Action and plot move in satisfying ways. Relationships develop fully and believably. The film uses no cinematic formula, and only one CSI-like murder scene. It moves from present to past to present with all the naturalness of fully realized drama.

Soulful Ricardo Darin plays Benjamin Esposito, a retired detective now writing a novel. Benjamin once worked for Irene Menendez Hastings (Soledad Villamil), now a judge. Irene had been Benjamin’s superior in a criminal investigation unit. We discover that Benjamin’s novel revolves around a real case, the rape and murder of a young schoolteacher 25 years ago. The book also reveals a story of forbidden love during those years. Benjamin’s attraction to Irene, a lawyer of wealth and social standing, is so doomed that he dares not pursue it. When the truth emerges, Irene divulges her feelings for Benjamin. Yet she is already engaged.

The Secret in Their Eyes is a love story wrapped within a detective story, made more delightful by unexpected infusions of humor. The plot keeps gifting us in unexpected ways. One twist occurs when a fascist government official changes the course of events after Gomez (Javier Godino) is imprisoned for the woman’s murder.

The film also becomes the story of Benjamin’s life and his decisions. Campanella (who directed over a dozen Law & Order: SVU episodes) gives us just enough detail and nuance to portray the detective as a put upon hero who’s always bailing out his alcoholic assistant Sandoval. Yet he is also a dedicated, honest public servant stubbornly chasing justice. Benjamin ultimately remains a detective, following the clues of his own life to transcend what seemed his own certain ending.

Villamil is unforgettable in several scenes, in particular during her cagey interrogation of the schoolteacher’s suspected murderer.

The Secret in Their Eyes asks several questions. How do we deal with emptiness? How do we reconcile our past life with the present? Here the realities of “what happened” and “what is possible” arise and intertwine.

Felix Monti’s cinematography is unassuming but powerful. Most memorably choreographed is a chase scene in a crowded soccer stadium (CGI effects were utilized). Guillermo Francella creates a tragic, ironic Sandoval, and Pablo Rago convinces us as the murder victim's obsessed husband Morales.

The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 / R / 2 hrs, 7 min

Cast Overview: Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, Soledad Villamil, Pablo Rago, Javier Godino, José Luis Gioia, Carla Quevedo

Director: Juan Jose Campanella

Genres: Foreign, Foreign Drama, Foreign Romance, Foreign Crime Drama

Language: Spanish with English subtitles