"That's a nice-a donut."
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Red Eye (2005)
Red Eye is horror director Wes Craven's best movie in nearly a decade, since the first Scream - and only a few small things keep it from being better than that. Some people may be hesitant to see the movie, given that is sure to be grouped and compared with Flightplan. Both movies were released in 2005 (with Flightplan coming out a few months sooner) and both have women in the lead role, with both experiencing traumatic events on an airplane. For what ever reason, the movie studios seem to have the (obviously coincidental ...*cough*) habit of releasing very similar movies in short time frames - one that leaps immediately to mind is Armageddon and Deep Impact in 1998. Both titles are solid movies, but Red Eye surpasses it.
In the movie, Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is a successful manager at a hotel in Miami; a hotel in which the deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is going to be arriving at for a stay the following morning. Lisa is away on a trip is and is traveling back home on a red eye plane flight. At the airport she hits it off with a charming man named Jackson (Cillian Murphy), and is then pleasantly surprised when they both end up with seats next to one another. Her comfort and delight immediately turn to sheer terror though when Jackson tells her the truth. His comrades are closely watching her father (Brian Cox) and if she doesn't use her power at the hotel to change the room assignment of the Secretary, then her father will die. A cat and mouse game ensues, with Lisa trying to keep her wits and keep her father alive, and Jackson ruthlessly bent on finishing the job.
McAdams is completely in control when she is on screen. Sure she is yet another actress with a pretty face, but she is very good with emotions; without a single word you can immediately tell (and believe) what her feelings are at any moment. If she wasn't already, she is undoubtedly well on her way to becoming one of Hollywood's leading actresses. If she chooses the right scripts correctly in the near future, it is quite possible that the search for the Next Julia will finally be over. And her costar isn't too shabby either. Murphy excels at being psychotic. But with this and his role as Scarecrow in Batman Begins, I only hope he doesn't begin to get typecast in these roles, because he's is a fine actor all-around.
Still, you are left to wonder why Craven did certain things. He spends plenty of time - particularly in the beginning - doting on the quirks, and often rude and obnoxious behaviors and complaints of guests and passengers towards people in customer service. Some of it is amusing; we can all relate to experiences with irate customers. But these are mostly caricatures with lines that delivered in ham-baked ways. What point does this serve other than perhaps to break up any tension and provide us some temporarily relief? It almost makes you wonder if it is solely done to pad the already short running time. And the movie flails around a bit in the final act, keeping it from making the leap from a good to a very good thriller.
Though as with most short movies (the credits on this begin prior to the 80 minute mark), Red Eye makes pretty good use of almost every moment. There is nary a dull spot, and the action is pretty fun and intense - though most of us will not be surprised by the outcome. It is generally a very gripping entry into the thriller genre, and obviously on the short list of top movies featuring scary airplane antics.
The Verdict: B-.
Michael Bentley 9:40 AM
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