Movie :: Red Eye

Hey everyone,

I saw Red Eye over the weekend. I had been waiting a while for this movie to come out primarily for two reasons. One, it is directed by Wes Craven of Scream fame, and two, the premise.

Red Eye is about Lisa, a hotel managress, who bumps into Jackson, a sweet, charming man at the airport, where her flight to Miami is delayed. While waiting for her plane, Lisa and Jackson chat up over drinks. Unbeknownst to her, Jackson ends up being Lisa's seat-mate on the plane. Everything seems hunky dory, as Lisa is clearly seen to be enjoying Jackson's company. Lisa is an aviophobic and Jackson manages to distracts her by talking about her family.

While up in the air, Jackson asks Lisa to make a phone call to her hotel to change the room for one important political figure so Jackson's comrades can assassinate him. Otherwise, Lisa's dad will be killed!

It's an interesting premise. What would I have done if I were taken hostage in a plane. With limited opportunities and places to go to, I would be stuck. The sense of tension and claustrophobia is used to the full here. Lisa turns out to be no dumb girl, and eventually manages to think of her get away from Jackson.

It's a superb suspense movie, with no cheap effects, side kicks or implausible going on. Sure, there are a couple of goofs in the movie, but I think it should be over-looked. Coming from Wes Craven, we are supposed to take his movies as having a good time, and I was having a ball of a time with Lisa and Jackson on the plane.

The action is shifted to Lisa's home after touchdown, and the suspense continues to play on high. Lisa (Rachel McAdams- of The Wedding Crashers) is a competent actress, but I think she will be typecast eventually into playing these damsels in distress kind of roles. Jackson (Cillian Murphy- of 28 Days Later) did a tremendous job, of playing a charming man, and then an intense hostage taker. His chilling blue eyes and receding cheekbones made him look all the more creepy.

Watch it for fun. Don't over-analyze the movie, and just have a good time!

Mansur