In the films The Secret in their Eyes and Philadelphia,
the male leads, Benjamin Esposito (Ricardo Darin), Joe Miller (Denzel
Washington) and Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), discover the inner-conflicts of
their legal systems and make the decision to fight back. Be it Buenos Aires or
Philadelphia, these films portray the legal profession as a place of corruption
and manipulation that one can only confront by taking drastic measures. In both
films the characters face the difficulties of being driven from their jobs by
the powers that be and struggle with a desire for true justice that is
sometimes insatiable.
In
these two films, Esposito and Beckett are both forced from their jobs by those
more powerful than them. In The Secret in
their Eyes, the first time it becomes clear that Esposito may be in serious
danger is when he and Hastings discover that Gomez has been released from
prison and approach their rival investigator, Romano. Romano addresses Esposito
directly and says, “Why do you come with her? You think it gives you immunity?
She’s Mendez Hastings… and you’re Esposito, a zero. She’s untouchable, you
aren’t… But if you have a problem with me…come alone and we’ll settle it.” It
is this moment in the film that Esposito realizes he may have put himself in danger
and soon after, when Pablo is killed in Esposito’s apartment, he is forced to
flee to protect himself and those around him.
In Philadelphia, Beckett is fired from his job on the pretences of
negligence and a bad attitude, though Beckett strongly believes that they chose
to do so because of his sexuality and the fact that he has been diagnosed with
AIDS. The following excerpt is from the first day in court while Miller,
Beckett’s attorney addresses the jury, “Andrew Beckett, afflicted with a debilitating
disease, made the legal, understandable, personal choice to keep the fact of
his illness to himself… His employers discovered this illness… They panicked…
But however you come to judge the behavior of Charles Wheeler and his partners
in moral, ethical, human terms…When they fired Andrew Beckett because he had
AIDS, they broke the law.” This is the first time in the film that it is fully
acknowledged that Beckett was fired because of his illness rather than the
illegitimate reason provided by the law firm. Though he is facing an entirely
different kind of life-threatening situation, Beckett, thanks to his
higher-ranked employers, was forced out of his position unfairly.
The
second similarity that can be drawn from these two films is that the characters
are forced to take drastic measures before they can find any semblance of
justice. In The Secret in their Eyes,
Esposito makes an attempt at putting the convicted, Gomez, back in jail, but
comes up short during his conversation with Romano who humiliates him by
explaining how their efforts in achieving justice are useless. “You two need to
get out more. Justice is nothing but an island. This is the real world… With
all the subversives out there...who cares? …No offence but there’s nothing you
can do… They don’t teach the New Argentina at Harvard…” Ultimately it is
Romano’s words in this scene that prove how powerless Esposito is in his
struggle to put Gomez back in jail. It takes twenty-five years of living in a
different city for the ordeal to blow over enough that Esposito can return. And
when he does he only then discovers that Gomez did end up serving his life
sentence.
In Philadelphia, Beckett, over the course of a month, goes from his
position as a high-profile lawyer to being unemployed and sues his employers
over their illegitimate cause for firing him. “I was fired by Wyant Wheeler. I
plan to bring a wrongful termination suit against Charles Wheeler and his
partners” Beckett proceeds to explain to Miller that he has previously been to
nine lawyers who have all turned down the case, admitting not only that he is
desperate but he is determined. Miller, though slightly homophobic himself,
sees the urgency in this as Beckett’s health worsens and decides that he will
pursue this case despite the odds that are against him. At long last, Miller
succeeds and wins the case just in time for Beckett to see the outcome of his
persistence.
Though
neither of these movies presents ideal outcomes, they suggest the possibility
that justice isn’t always achievable and that sacrifice is often necessary in
order to accomplish it. The Secret in
their Eyes shows us how deeply corrupt a government can become and that
striving for the greater good doesn’t always pay off the way we imagine it
will. And Philadelphia examines the
lengths that people may be forced to go in the pursuit of justice against a
system that is equally as determined to hold them back.
By Matilda Davidson, 16
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