From the Archives: Red Eye (2005, Craven)
June 4th 2010 01:42
Red Eye (2005, Craven)
Written August 19, 2005
Like a plane taking off, Red Eye propels the audience into action by way of its fast-paced credits, filled with heart-pounding music and accompanying sounds of cabin pressure. The opening sequence is a montage of shots – seemingly unimportant events such as men unpacking a large case of fish and repeated shots of a wallet with the initials J.R. engraved. We as viewers of a suspense-thriller, however, know all these random puzzle pieces will eventually fall into place. Directed by horror master Wes Craven, he trades gore for tension, providing an entertaining and thrilling ride.
Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers) plays Lisa Reisert, a competent and capable Miami hotel manager who excels in people skills. We learn these bits of character development through her interactions with Cynthia, a fellow worker lacking in everything Lisa possesses. Taking the red eye home to Miami after attending her grandmother’s funeral in Texas, Lisa meets Jackson Rippner played by Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins). A fellow passenger on the delayed flight, the two talk over drinks while the camera allows us to experience slice-of-life images of the other passengers in the terminal. Craven never adds unnecessary information or scenes like so many Blockbusters these days. The attention to detail is spot on and each character we see has a bigger role as the film progresses. Everything we witness has a point and place even though we might not know it yet.
Lisa and Jackson meet again on the plane, their seats next to one another, an apparent coincidence. A sweet “boy meets girl” story, however, this is not. After take-off, Jackson informs Lisa she must move the Deputy Secretary of Defense from one room at her hotel to another or her father will be killed. Small details like Lisa’s incredulity and discomfort when Jackson alludes to his shady line of work before revealing what she must do, and Jackson’s face changing from warm and friendly to stone-cold vacancy prove McAdams and Murphy are extremely talented young actors capable of carrying a film. McAdams never overplays her part, something incredibly easy to do (and occurs far too often) in the suspense thriller genre. Her character is strong and determined, a post-modern version of The Final Girl without the issue of sex clouding the way.
Murphy, last seen as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins, gives a chilling performance showing his strong range as an actor. With his clean-cut good looks and dazzlingly eyes, he exudes charm at first, and then menace with absolute conviction as his character’s true intentions are revealed. The majority of the film takes place in the air, as Lisa wrestles with the knowledge that she will responsible for the death of an innocent man and obstacles get in the way of Jackson’s plan. There is a scene with Jackson and Lisa in the plane’s bathroom, filled with such fierce intensity. The emotion it conjures up is reminiscent to a scene in the superbly underrated The Bourne Supremacy.
Red Eye does contain some of the obvious predictability of suspense thrillers, but its freshness in other ways outweighs the stigma. Take for example the details of an event from Lisa’s past that gives her character a complexity and depth lacking in other Scream Queens of the horror genre. There are many layers to Red Eye and Craven tackles each with care and prestige giving us a film worthy of our time and money, much like an enjoyable trip on your favorite airline.
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So many of the other passengers on the plane are two-dimensional stereotypes (the rude customer, the sweet old lady, the cougar and so on) which was distracting to say the least; the timing was just a little too perfect; and Lisa - despite being a strong and capable character throughout - has to be saved by her father in the final scene which was really disappointing, I thought.
Obviously no film is going to be perfect and for the most part Red Eye was great, but it's just a shame that Craven let these few details slip. Great review anyway!