The Secret In Their Eyes

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There is a lot of hype, and with it pressure, surrounding The Secret In Their Eyes, as the Argentinean thriller beat off the likes of 'The White Ribbon' and 'A Prophet' for the nod for Best Foreign Film on Oscar night this year. Hype, never a good thing, might have oversold this one, but its snappy dialogue between witty characters makes it easy to ignore its formulaic TV plotting.

Haunted by a still unsolved brutal rape and homicide case from 1974, retired Argentinean prosecutor Benjamin Esposito (Darin, Nine Queens, XXY) attempts to write a novel on the investigation and seeks out the help of former boss, and a figure of unrequited love for Benjamin, Judge Irene Merendez-Hastings (Soledad Villamil). She's surprised by his new found interest in a case she thinks is a lost cause, but because there is still a spark between the two she decides to help him out the best she can. What follows is a series of flashbacks to the events surrounding the case in the '70s, coupled with Benjamin's contemporary investigation and his wooing of his old flame.

Since David Fincher upped the ante on the police procedural thriller with 2007's meticulously researched 'Zodiac', 'The Secret In Their Eyes' seems a tad twee when it comes to the actual investigation. At over two hours director Campanella (who co-wrote the script) had ample time to throw up a few twists and red herrings but this thriller has only one suspect; Campanella's TV background (he's behind the camera on Law & Order: Special Crimes Unit and House. MD) might explain the formulaic approach to the story - this thriller can be obvious at times. It might explain, too, the point-and-shoot style to the direction, which will be forgotten about once eyes are set on the glorious centrepiece: an eight-minute long shot that begins high above a football stadium and continues down onto the pitch and then up into the crowd. Without cutting, the search follows a breathless foot chase into the depths of the stadium. Wonderful stuff, that.

Where the 'catch the killer' plot lacks invention, 'The Secret In Their Eyes' makes up for it with its bubbling dialogue. Benjamin and Irene's back-and-forth has an undisguisable flirtatious nature to it, which is fun. Their colleague Pablo Sandoval (Guillermo Francella), an alcoholic with marriage problems, is the funniest character on show and brings a welcome levity to what at times can be pretty ordinary stuff.