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THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (EL SECRETO DE SUS OJOS)Movie Reviews
Spanish language crime drama about judicial cover-ups and corruption in Argentina, spanning 25 years and viewed through the eyes of a criminal court investigator. Cast:Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, Jose Luis Gioia, Javier GodinoDirector:Juan José CampanellaRelease Date:April 16, 2010DVD Release:June 1, 2010From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:2 hr 7 min
JUNE 1, 2010
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos), Excellent Reviews Key Cities
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) played in key cities to excellent reviews. • Joe Morgenstern wrote in the Wall Street Journal, "Elements intertwine. Feelings emerge, recede, resurface.... Exceptional movies are often about many things, and that's certainly the case with this one." • And Rick Groen wrote in the Toronto Globe & Mail, "It deserved the Oscar." More Reviews Below...
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Richard Corliss, Time: GOOD "...an engaging enough film, blessed with elements that would appeal to traditional art-house audiences... hustles and bustles like a TV drama in the HBO fashion."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,060 words, 04/25/10
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: VERY GOOD(cg) "To say that writer-director Juan Jose Campanella's movie is all over the place would be unfair, and inaccurate. He shows a sure hand technically..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 505 words, 04/22/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: VERY GOOD(cg) "Listen closely and you can almost hear the reassuring chung-CHUNG that marks the influence of the many episodes of 'Law & Order' on the director's résumé."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 279 words, 04/16/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The highest praise is due Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil for letting the unspoken passion between these two characters play out in their eyes."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 297 words, 04/16/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "A well-told thriller with intelligent characters speaks powerfully in any language.... no surprise that this superb Argentine film won the Oscar for best foreign language film."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 199 words, 04/23/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a rebuke to formula screenplays. We grow to know the characters, and the story pays due respect to their complexities and needs."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 04/22/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (10 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...an attractive, messy drama... comes with a hint of Grand Guignol, a suggestion of politics and three resonant, deeply appealing performances."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 04/16/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...macabre-yet-moving... nuanced and full of intelligence and emotion; just when you think you have a bead on it, it gently swerves into richer places."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 159 words, 04/16/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautifully calibrated... a timepiece of precision and artistry. Like the murder at the heart of this tale, 'Secret' is bound to linger in the memory for years."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 654 words, 04/16/10
John Anderson, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "A kind of comfortable gravity attends 'The Secret in Their Eyes,' which for all its concern with memory and redemption is also the oft-seen poor-boy/rich-girl story..."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 285 words, 05/07/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a rebuke to formula screenplays. We grow to know the characters, and the story pays due respect to their complexities and needs."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 722 words, 04/22/10
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: POOR "...ludicrous interrogation scenes, a drunken colleague who provides comic relief and redemptive tragedy, and a climactic flood of memories that plays like a trailer."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 186 words, 04/13/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a movie of tactile investigations... the phones have rotary dials and cords, notes are written by hand or on manual typewriters, detectives wear down a lot of shoe leather..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 540 words, 04/23/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...with grim crime scenes and testy interrogations, its legal strategizing and third-act twist, it has a certain 'Criminal Intent' intensity, a 'Special Victims Unit' specialness..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 530 words, 04/30/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...ambitious... uses a long-forgotten crime as a springboard for ruminations on love and memory, on the nature of time and the value of life."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 580 words, 05/14/10
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "This Argentine detective story is one hell of a great movie. Expertly written, played and directed, it's the best romantic mystery since 'L.A. Confidential.' "(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 04/30/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...enormously entertaining. You certainly can't fault Campanella for ambition, laying out so many elements of a story with confidence, asking us to follow. Do so..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 638 words, 04/30/10
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Ricardo Darín is one of the best actors you probably haven't heard of. His eyes always seem to be gently interrogating the object of their gaze..."(See all of Chris Vognar's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 447 words, 05/07/10
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Though the story occasionally seems a little too convenient to be true, it doesn't matter a whit, as the filmmaking is so skilled."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 05/07/10
Mike Russell, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "The actors give full-bodied, warm, melancholic performances... their easy chemistry grounds the film even when it flirts with the cliched and the downright bizarre."(See all of Mike Russell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 198 words, 05/07/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: EXCELLENT(cg) "...mesmerizing... This is a flesh-and-blood movie, and both Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil bring earthy presence to the story."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 308 words, 05/21/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "You can imagine Alfred Hitchcock, Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese studying the five-minute sequence in the middle of the film frame-by-frame..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 04/23/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Nicolas Rapold, Village Voice: POOR "...ludicrous interrogation scenes, a drunken colleague who provides comic relief and redemptive tragedy, and a climactic flood of memories that plays like a trailer."(See all of Nicolas Rapold's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 186 words, 04/13/10
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: WEAK(cg) "...a piece of crap... kitsch, cliché, and cornball contrivance.... the Academy appeal of director Juan José Campanella's bloated noir is no secret."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 163 words, 04/15/10
Scott Tobias, AV Club: GOOD(cg) "...exactly the type of film the Academy traditionally honors: intelligent but conventional, an actor's showcase with glossy production values, and a little too polite."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 380 words, 04/15/10
Curt Holman, Atlanta Creative Loafing: EXCELLENT(cg) "Ricardo Darin's superb interplay with Soledad Villamil and Guillermo Francella always proves to be a sight for sore eyes."(See all of Curt Holman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 480 words, 05/19/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: VERY GOOD "...a genre not typically known for subtlety.... Hitchcockian tension, a breathtaking chase, and ambiguous victims and villains seamlessly navigate existential musings."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 04/15/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "...a noirish thriller that splits the difference between the two -- a taut murder mystery with a political conscience.... finds secrets everywhere..."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 185 seconds, 04/16/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "Elements intertwine. Feelings emerge, recede, resurface.... Exceptional movies are often about many things, and that's certainly the case with this one."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 04/16/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...an attractive, messy drama... comes with a hint of Grand Guignol, a suggestion of politics and three resonant, deeply appealing performances."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 04/16/10
David Denby, New Yorker: OUTSTANDING "...a finely wrought, labyrinthine entertainment whose corners and passageways will be discussed by moviegoers for hours afterward..."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 539 words, 04/12/10
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautifully calibrated... a timepiece of precision and artistry. Like the murder at the heart of this tale, 'Secret' is bound to linger in the memory for years."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 654 words, 04/16/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Jonathan Holland, Daily Variety: OUTSTANDING "A deeply rewarding throwback to the unself-conscious days when cinema still strove to be magical... simply mesmerizing.... Juan Jose Campanella's finest film."(See all of Jonathan Holland's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 10/04/09
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: OUTSTANDING "Campanella ('Same Love, Same Rain,' 'Son of the Bride') is one of Argentina's most communicative storytellers, and this entry qualifies as a high point in his career."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 637 words, 09/23/09
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...beautifully calibrated... a timepiece of precision and artistry. Like the murder at the heart of this tale, 'Secret' is bound to linger in the memory for years."(See all of Betsy Sharkey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 654 words, 04/16/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...splendidly acted by all... it's effective on any number of levels, as a suspenseful crimer, as a morality tale, and also as a personal journey of a decent man..."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 749 words, 04/06/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: EXCELLENT "...an attractive, messy drama... comes with a hint of Grand Guignol, a suggestion of politics and three resonant, deeply appealing performances."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 04/16/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: OUTSTANDING "Elements intertwine. Feelings emerge, recede, resurface.... Exceptional movies are often about many things, and that's certainly the case with this one."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 583 words, 04/16/10
17.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)'s reviews are separated by an average 17.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)'s reviews cover 74.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,464 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 463 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) Coverage, Volume & Length (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 67.1 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)'s reviews on average broke 67.1 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Secret in Their Eyes (El secreto de sus ojos) (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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