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The Secret in Their Eyes (contains spoilers)
One question that always seems to come up in debates about capital punishment is whether death or the emptiness of a lifetime of incarceration is the harsher sentence. The Secret in Their Eyes makes a case for the latter in a way that's gripping and beautifully told. I like how the movie presents three flavors of this punishment and how it makes you question which one would be the hardest to endure. Besides the obvious in Isidoro Gómez's fate, there's widower Ricardo Morales, whose years are filled with grief and Benjamin Esposito, whose adulthood is one defined by regret. The movie also deserves credit for how elegantly it weaves these men's stories together as well as its two time periods. The way it switches between 1974 and 1999 and at just the right times as well as its obvious, but not too obvious time period identifiers like the costumes and Esposito's hair color is on par with how the first and third seasons of True Detective do this. There is plenty more to praise about the movie's crime story from Esposito's funny, eccentric and inebriated partner Sandoval to that dizzying "how did they shoot that?" soccer stadium chase, but it's even more successful as a love story. Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil's chemistry and the subtle ways their characters express their attraction is so endearing, which of course makes their failure to act upon them so wrenching. Thankfully, the way the movie concludes this story filled me with genuine and tearful elation. Again, this is a gripping and beautiful movie that is bound to make you reflect on any empty years you've had, the cause of the emptiness and which one is the worst. While the movie leaves that question open, it makes a strong case for Esposito's. However, he may be the only one of the three men who is willing or able to not let the rest of his years be empty.
One question that always seems to come up in debates about capital punishment is whether death or the emptiness of a lifetime of incarceration is the harsher sentence. The Secret in Their Eyes makes a case for the latter in a way that's gripping and beautifully told. I like how the movie presents three flavors of this punishment and how it makes you question which one would be the hardest to endure. Besides the obvious in Isidoro Gómez's fate, there's widower Ricardo Morales, whose years are filled with grief and Benjamin Esposito, whose adulthood is one defined by regret. The movie also deserves credit for how elegantly it weaves these men's stories together as well as its two time periods. The way it switches between 1974 and 1999 and at just the right times as well as its obvious, but not too obvious time period identifiers like the costumes and Esposito's hair color is on par with how the first and third seasons of True Detective do this. There is plenty more to praise about the movie's crime story from Esposito's funny, eccentric and inebriated partner Sandoval to that dizzying "how did they shoot that?" soccer stadium chase, but it's even more successful as a love story. Ricardo Darin and Soledad Villamil's chemistry and the subtle ways their characters express their attraction is so endearing, which of course makes their failure to act upon them so wrenching. Thankfully, the way the movie concludes this story filled me with genuine and tearful elation. Again, this is a gripping and beautiful movie that is bound to make you reflect on any empty years you've had, the cause of the emptiness and which one is the worst. While the movie leaves that question open, it makes a strong case for Esposito's. However, he may be the only one of the three men who is willing or able to not let the rest of his years be empty.