Red Eye

Director: Wes Craven
Main Cast: Rachel McAdams & Cillian Murphy
Writer(s): Carl Ellsworth & Dan Foos
Director of Photography: Robert D. Yeoman
Producer: Chris Bender & Marianne Maddalena
Editor(s): Stuart Levy
Original Score By: Marco Beltrami
Release Date: 2005 August 19

No one likes flying commercially anymore. It's a hassle. The lines, arriving 2 hours prior to departure time, the smell of musty feet at the metal detector, the "do you have any undeveloped film in your bag? or "is it unlocked?", the humiliating encroachment of the "can you please step over here and spread your arms" while you are publicly groped with the chirping fraternity paddle. It's especially disheartening when your trip involves sitting next to a terrorist mastermind with your family members being held ransom. Unfortunately for Rachel McAdams her trip turns sour more from the latter than any of the former.

Wes Craven, probably best known for his successful horror films, tries a romp into the world of the suspense thriller. While not altogether successful, it doesn't entirely lose itself amidst the all too familiar plotline.

Since I've already made mention of it, I'll start with the plot. The first 30 minutes of the movie were excellent. It was playful, but hinted at the intensity to come. My appetite was waiting in expectation of the plot's main course. Unfortunately, when it was finally served all that was delivered were salted, roasted peanuts and a half-glass of flat ginger ale. The writers left far too many things unfinished and really didn't offer much substance to the story. I grew tired of McAdams continually working at crazy schemes to break free from her captor. But, that I'm afraid, was the heart of the plot. She is faced with a sufficiently difficult decision, but the screenplay isn't bold enough to actually let her make it. Instead she hems and haws back and forth trying to deduce a way for her to have her cake and eat it too.

I expected more from Craven; something more un-Hollywood. I didn't get it. What comes out in the end is a fairly thin and well-worn storyline without much punch attached to it. Not to mention that the 3 minute trailer advertising the film gives away so much of the plot that not much is left to surprise. I should mention, however, that there were a few moments that were tense and suspenseful, but none too frequent and few were more than clever trite ploys to bait the audience and leave them wholly unfulfilled.

I tired quickly of the endless loopholes and implausabilities that existed. Even though I enjoyed the film, for the most part, I wasn't engaged enough to overlook some of these things. Without going into excruciating detail about the plot it would do little good for me to mention them specifically, but suffice it to say that they did exist and the movie was none the better for it.

McAdams and Murphy's onscreen chemistry was great, for the first half. After that Murphy's character was too bland to be interesting, although occasionally creepy, and McAdams too hysterical and frequently predictable. I don't blame the actors, though. Their source material was, as previously mentioned a little more than a one hour TV drama and with that as a foundation they did wonders with it. I'll expect to see more of the two of them in the upcoming years.

The minor characters, though few, were also a little distracting from the suspense. The hotel clerk filling in for McAdams appeared as though she had just walked off the set of a Nickolodeon afternoon special and added little to the films tone. Actually, she detracted from it. The few others were merely there as storyline props or eye candy.

A great example of this was McAdam's dad in the film. He mostly sat in his favorite chair and answered the phone when she called. He was used more as a plot catalyst than an actual film character. On the eye candy front, my female viewers may like to know that ColbyDonaldson (of Survivor and Schick razor fame) made an understated appearance as a secret service agent for the Director of Homeland Security. He delivered his few lines with the poise and strength that one would expect from a Texan who was a runner-up reality show contestant. Still it is an interesting to view a media star in transition, but again merely a diversion from the unfocused goal of the film.

I've gotten through most of the negative aspects of the film. If you let yourself go, dont' think, and just enjoy the ride you'll probably walk out of the film feeling as though you got your money's worth. The camerwork, particularly on the plane, was fantastic. It was smooth, claustrophobic, and so realitic at times I felt I could smell the stale air and feel my knees hitting the seat in front of me. The angles, focus, and tight shots of the film did more to serve the story than the dialogue or even some of the characters. Overall well done on this front.

Bottom Line: Wes Craven's first real move into the supsense movie genre was not entirely successful, but also not entirely a failure. It was an entertaining movie that kept your attention throughout, occasionally pushed you to the edge of your seat, but ultimately had little lasting effect. The movie was unable to sidestep many of the common pitfalls of the typical thriller and often felt as though you had seen this film before in one form or another. The thin plotline, lack of common sense, plentiful loopholes, and mostly uninteresting characters were a little too much to swallow. While mostly well crafted, better writing could have served the picture up as a more hearty 1st-class meal, complete with real silverware.

A "we've been cleared for take-off" 5 out of 10

~RG