In Theaters:Red Eye
In 1984 Director Wes Cravens forever wed teenage movie goers to Freddy Krueger, the stiletto gloved Fedora wearing slasher of "A Nightmare on Elm Street". Elm Street sequels continued to define Cravens' career until the "Scream" franchise started in 1996. Where Krueger's victims were aloof, sex starved teenagers just trying to have a little fun, the teenagers in in "Scream" were completely aware but that didn't keep the body count from rising to staggering and sometimes ridiculous proportions. "Red Eye" introduces us to another incarnation of the Cravens consciousness, a consciousness that doesn't conjure up gallons of blood, inventive ways of killing off semi nude teenage girls and natural disaster type body counts. In "Red Eye" Cravens manages to thrill and chill the audience with character development, smart dialogue, crisp acting and imagination. Who knew Cravens had it in him?
The story revolves around Lisa ( Rachel McAdams) as a busy hotel manager that has a fear of flying, she ends up on a plane next to Jackson ( Cillian Murphy) that isn't the nice guy he appears to be. Turns out Jackson is involved in an assassination plot and without giving away the story it is no accident he ends up next to Lisa.
There is plenty of suspense and teases in this film and you couldn't help but feel a little Hitchcock as the story of unfolded. Cravens actually settles down in this film and lets his characters and script tell the story without seemingly intelligent people doing stupid things. The film is also paced very well, the story stays on the plane just long enough to get the point across without sending everyone into a claustrophobic meltdown. When you start to feel a little boxed in the story opens up and lets itself go, almost right on cue. The sprinkling of comedy in a tense and dark story helps ease the pain and there is just enough to keep the film moving and riveting all at the same time. An intense and rollercoaster third act brought the film to an end just when it was supposed to and quite frankly how it was supposed to.
Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams have surprising chemistry on screen and every scene between them is believable, I think mostly due to McAdams. She doesn't go Ripley at any point but she appears more than capable of handling herself and taking care of business. Cravens again doesn't go overboard and have her suddenly turn into a cold blooded killer like in so many of his other films. McAdams stays within herself and turns in a solid performance. While Murphy has enjoyed most of the kudos for the film it was McAdams I was most impressed with.
I saw this in a theater that was sold out and most of the patrons were teens and twentysomethings. At the conclusion of the film a clear majority of the patrons were applauding, not that token applause you hear at seminars, this was enthusiastic applause. It appears that after all these years Cravens has again tapped into the young moviegoers and given them what they want. I'm sure Freddy Krueger would be proud.
The story revolves around Lisa ( Rachel McAdams) as a busy hotel manager that has a fear of flying, she ends up on a plane next to Jackson ( Cillian Murphy) that isn't the nice guy he appears to be. Turns out Jackson is involved in an assassination plot and without giving away the story it is no accident he ends up next to Lisa.
There is plenty of suspense and teases in this film and you couldn't help but feel a little Hitchcock as the story of unfolded. Cravens actually settles down in this film and lets his characters and script tell the story without seemingly intelligent people doing stupid things. The film is also paced very well, the story stays on the plane just long enough to get the point across without sending everyone into a claustrophobic meltdown. When you start to feel a little boxed in the story opens up and lets itself go, almost right on cue. The sprinkling of comedy in a tense and dark story helps ease the pain and there is just enough to keep the film moving and riveting all at the same time. An intense and rollercoaster third act brought the film to an end just when it was supposed to and quite frankly how it was supposed to.
Cillian Murphy and Rachel McAdams have surprising chemistry on screen and every scene between them is believable, I think mostly due to McAdams. She doesn't go Ripley at any point but she appears more than capable of handling herself and taking care of business. Cravens again doesn't go overboard and have her suddenly turn into a cold blooded killer like in so many of his other films. McAdams stays within herself and turns in a solid performance. While Murphy has enjoyed most of the kudos for the film it was McAdams I was most impressed with.
I saw this in a theater that was sold out and most of the patrons were teens and twentysomethings. At the conclusion of the film a clear majority of the patrons were applauding, not that token applause you hear at seminars, this was enthusiastic applause. It appears that after all these years Cravens has again tapped into the young moviegoers and given them what they want. I'm sure Freddy Krueger would be proud.
posted by Flixking at 12:50 PM
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