Nevertheless, it is an integral and life giving part of who God has called us to be."It was fascinating to break down a character in terms of how they would change and how they would be affected in a time period where a lot of it is internal," he told CBS News. Thus, forgiveness is not earned, or achieved, but readily, actively and purposefully given. It is in the acts of wrongdoing that the opportunity for forgiveness is born. If the Father being the only righteous one and in a position to judge and condemn, has forgiven us, then we must surely be compelled to forgive others. Such that, despite the Father’s righteousness and because of the Son’s righteousness we have been forgiven.
+poster.jpg "secret in their eyes")
So great is God’s mercy and desire to make us just, that God “goes out of God’s way” to provide forgiveness. Yet, it is through that very act of violent wrongdoing that the Father provided forgiveness for us all. In reality, humanity has wronged God both in disobedience to the Father, and in violence against the Son. Apparently because we “just forgive,” the Father should forgive us. This verse seems to oversimplify and justify or demand God’s forgiveness. Matthew 6:12 says, “Forgive us for the ways we have wronged you, just as we also forgive those who have wronged us” (CEB). This may seem insensitive and contradictory, but why does Jess need the killer to “pay?” Does justice require retribution? Should Jess forgive Carolyn’s killer? Does forgiveness have prerequisites? Being that she is rendered juridically powerless, Jess is left wanting to take matters into her own hands. Carolyn is dead, but the killer is potentially still alive and free. After thirteen years have past, Ray returns to instigate Claire and Jess, wanting closure, wanting retribution. This is done primarily through the character of Jess. Does this value justify the actions of their superiors? Is one life more valuable than another? At what point does “the greater good” supersede justice? These are questions the film raises and leaves to the viewer to debate.įorgiveness and retribution are also explored in the film. This remake adds to the moral complexity of this theme, by having Carolyn’s killer provide information about members of a mosque in post-9/11 Los Angeles.
#SECRET IN THEIR EYES FREE#
As Carolyn’s killer is set free because he is an asset to the department as a “snitch,” Ray, Jess, and Claire find themselves asking if, in the “grand scheme of things,” information is really more valuable than a human life. Two themes are central to the film: corruption and forgiveness. Instead, Billy Ray proposes a morose, sanitized, “complex” and unrewarding version. Gone is the fun irreverence, raw exploration of human darkness, vicarious satisfaction, and surprise of the final payoff present in the original. The viewer is drawn into the film by having to pay close attention, trying to make sense of clues, and is ultimately rewarded with the surprise of clues that were misinterpreted or missed. The thriller/detective genre is an instance where less really is more. However, more flashbacks, more information and more present “tension,” does not a good film make. Perhaps, this is because American screenwriters seem to believe American audiences are obtuse and fickle, thereby explicating too much, adding more “action” and ironically ending with dull “appropriations.” Billy Ray told The Hollywood Reporter, “I loved the story and felt that there was the possibility in it for a more muscular version of the thriller - a more American kind of story.” If by “muscularity” Ray is refering to an unnecessary over-complication of the story, he has succeeded. In hopes of bringing justice and closure for himself and Jess, Ray embarks on a hunt that uncovers shocking secrets.Īs with many Hollywood remakes of foreign films, this film fails to “translate” the original. Now, thirteen years later, Ray returns to Los Angeles with a new lead. Ray has been haunted by the mystery and injustice surrounding the devastating death of Jess’s daughter Carolyn. The film follows two Los Angeles investigators, Ray (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Jess (Julia Roberts), and their supervisor Claire (Nicole Kidman). It is a Hollywood remake of the 2010 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, El secreto de sus ojos (2009). It stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman, and Julia Roberts. Secret in Their Eyes is the third film to be written and directed by Billy Ray after Breach (2007) and Shattered Glass (2003).
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