The Secret in Their Eyes

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
IMDB #172 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/]

The Gist:
Here we have the film that beat out White Ribbon for the Foreign Language Oscar, and after watching it the choice makes a lot of sense. First of all, let's get something out of the way, this film is not as good as White Ribbon. It's beautifully filmed (although White Ribbon's cinematography is phenomenal and not comparable), it runs very smoothly as a suspenseful drama, it's well acted...but with all that considered it relies quite a bit on formula. Don't get me wrong, it takes a certain number of refreshing risks and it is done very well but the film still feels like something I've seen before (something you could not accuse of White Ribbon). The Secret in Their Eyes is perhaps more of an enjoyable viewing, but the films that have to do with detectives (in this case a court official who takes up the detective role) who are obsessed with a case unsolved are innumerable and unlike a film I just recently watched that will be featured next week (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) this film brings nothing new to the idea except pitch perfect execution.