MovieChat Forums > Secret in Their Eyes (2015) Discussion > Question for those who watched this film...

Question for those who watched this film (spoilers)

posted 8 years ago by parknourie
11 replies | jump to latest

What did you think of the twist in this film?
I'm interested in those who watched this film without having seen the original.

For me, I viewed the original Argentinian film several times and in my first time the twist was very shocking and yet very satisfying.

Compared to the original, I think this film scattered too much clues but that may just be my biased opinion in knowing the ending already.

So what did you guys think?
Was the twist foreseeable and/or effective?

Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down and a Wagging Finger of Shame

[–] iroquoisjoe 8 years ago

*** SPOILERS BELOW HERE ***

OH yeah! I loved the ending twist. Very effective and very chilling. By the time Ray is slipping back behind her house and they were giving us flashback clues...I was like, "Oh...NO! Does she have him captured back there?" But that was about as "foreseeable" as it got for me!

I downloaded and watched The Secret in their Eyes (2009) much later the same day and I enjoyed THAT ending quite a lot too...even if I wasn't literally "surprised". The Argentinean film, of course, gives us zero clues. Especially as we don't even meet the older version of the husband until just about the end. We meet the older Julia Roberts character right from the beginning in this version.

I think this film scattered too much clues

Ha! ...can you give an example of the too much clues?

Having watched this film a few times now, I keep wishing that they had sprinkled more clues in there...just so at the ending I could have gone, "Ahhhh...I should've seen that coming!" 

For example:
a. Julia Roberts character should have been a little more worried when Chiwetel Ejiofor's character shows up.

b. She probably should have been more insistent that his persistence was causing her personal heart ache and that the case was better left buried.

c. Someone could have mentioned that she never invites anyone over to her house in the last 13 years.

d. At Siefert's death she could have been way more sorrowful, as opposed to getting mad at Ray. Thus showing how she was feeling it was really HER fault he was dead...because she did not tell Ray everything.

e. Someone could have mentioned how she lost all interest in pursuing Marzin soon after he "disappeared".

etc...etc...etc

Peace! 

On November 6, 2012 god blessed America...again. 

[–] pennilayne 8 years ago

it didnt HIT ME like i usually enjoy a good twist to do. but it was still a good "twist".... i just didnt see it as much of a twist because i didnt believe her the minute she said she killed him. my head was already spinning with somethign else that happened, and to be honest the minute he said he was going to go check on her i knew he was gonna be there somewhere. i still liked it, thought it was very clever and well done and did surprise me, it just didnt give me that gut wrenching "holy shi* no way* twist kind of feel. but def the best way to go about ending the film.

[–] smoke0 8 years ago

The original's twist was shocking and satisfying, because you understood what had happened at exactly the same time the detective did, and every clue was a puzzle piece that fell into place. This movie gave clues, but as you put it, they really were too scattered to just fall into place, and someone seeing this film without seeing the original could easily think the twist pretty much just came out of nowhere.

Revenge is a dish that best goes stale.

[–] livngtell 8 years ago

I haven't seen the original, so didn't have any insight. I will say that I wasn't surprised by the "twist", but I actually don't consider it really a twist. Not that I saw it coming, but kinda expected it--I didn't believe her when she said she killed him. I don't think there was enough build up in the story and cutting back/forth between the past/present kept taking me in/out of the moment (not sure if presenting linear would have helped). They should have concentrated on Jess and Ray's relationship more, rather than Ray and Claire's (which did not add anything to the story).

To me, the movie was told from the point of view of Ray and his obsession, so it is hard for me to be totally shocked by what another character does, who probably, on the whole, had 15-20 min of screen time.

This movie had potential and had its moments, but could've and should've been more.

[–] DeviousPheonix 8 years ago

No what should have happened was when Ray found out that the guy was being held captive in Jess's back-yard, claire should have been with him at the time.

Then when Claire wanted everyone to turn themselves in, they shoot claire and marzin to keep the secret.

That would have been a far better twist to the story.

[–] cpoet 8 years ago

I didn't see the twist coming until Ray first started tiptoeing around her place. Is it kosher to show footage of events that never happened?

I expected them to double down on the twist by having her take the gun and shoot Ray in the back while he was digging.

[–] fairy-3 8 years ago

I knew the ending because I saw the original. So when I saw Julia Roberts in Claire's office I knew was she was up to.
When I saw the original I loved the ending. I didn't like it in the remake, they should have stayed true to the original ending, it's the best part of all the movie.

[–] sunchick116-872-583383 7 years ago

they did stay true to the movie, or do you mean killing the marzin character?

in my opinion, because they changed the relationship from a husband and wife, to a mother and daughter, killing marzin made total sense because keeping him alive was wearing on Jess. It's different in the original because it's a man (the husband) but for a woman, that's more emotionally tolling. like Ray says 'you look a million years old'. he was relieving her.

IMO, what makes the movie powerful is him being kept there at all for that long. who cares what happens after that.

[–] scmarco-07445 7 years ago

Just saw this movie and was completely thrown off by the twist. I had everything from Nicole Kidman being in on it to Julia Roberts' daughter still being alive , possibly for insurance fraud. When Ray was walking around towards the end, I truly thought the daughter was alive, and then shocked when I heard Julia say she hated the death penalty and noticed Marzin in the cage, that blew me away. Never saw the original nor read the book (if there is one). Didn't read any reviews prior nor watched any type of trailer, went in completely blind because of the great cast that was in the film, knew it had to be pretty good, and to me it was a great watch. Definitely want to see The Hidden Face BC of how many people are saying how amazing it is but can't find it anywhere, Hulu or Netflix currently don't have it.

[–] smidget28 (769) 5 years ago

I don't care if I'm the sole person with this opinion. I didnt see the original and this movie was fabulous.

[–] imjustasking (139) 5 years ago

SPOILER I thought the twist was when she confessed that she killed the murderer long ago. Then,it's revealed that she actually had him behind bars for years seeking a more lengthy punishment. I never saw any other version,book or film and therefore was surprised and and totally satisfied at the end.