Thursday, August 25, 2005
PG-13, 85 minutes
South Wind 12
Three Stars
Subtle and patient don’t usually describe Wes Craven films. But the director of such gory horror films as A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Hills Have Eyes delivers those two things in Red Eye. Craven and his two leads make it a solid, taught thriller that, at 85 minutes, is short and sweet.
Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, two of Hollywood’s biggest and best up-and-coming stars of the moment, are the two leads in Red Eye. McAdams stole Mean Girls from under Lindsey Lohan’s heels, and hit all the right notes in The Notebook. Murphy gained notice for the modernized zombie flick 28 Days Later and a creepy performance as the Scarecrow in Batman Begins.
In Red Eye, McAdams plays Lisa, a hotel manager on a late flight back to Miami after attending her grandmother’s funeral. Murphy plays Jackson Ripper (clever name), a charming gentleman with unknown motives. At first, it appears Jackson is trying to woo the beautiful Lisa, but as the two are sitting next to each other on the plane ride, he reveals that he’s an assassin and their encounter isn’t as random as it seems.
What follows is an expert exercise in tension. Sure, we’ve seen this before in a handful of movies, but what makes Red Eye successful is how well the two leads sell it. McAdams finds perfect balance between the vulnerable scream -queen we’ve seen in this position many times before and the strong-willed victim who’s not going to take any more of her tormentor’s shit. Murphy is picture-perfect for the role and picks up right where he left off in Batman Begins earlier this summer. He manages to pull off being charming and dangerous at the same time — not an easy task. Throw in a somewhat-wasted Brian Cox, one of the best character actors of this generation, and what results is a smart, tense thriller to end off the summer.
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