The Lost Highway for 1.20.06: Red Eye
Posted by Mary Markham on 01.20.2006
Always choose the aisle seat.
Hello my fellow readers. I am once again back in the swing of things...I hope. I had originally started a piece on "Imaginary Heroes" but as a novice with the new posting policies the column vanished into the internet blackhole. So let's scrap that film this week and talk about Wes Craven, Cillian Murphy and the halfway decent movie "Red Eye".
Let's first discuss my white knuckle fear of flying. I personally find it unnatural and unrealistic that a giant, heavy piece of steel, aluminum, metal what have you can defy the laws of gravity and time making it easier on us humans to move throughout the globe. Perhaps it is the close quarters once inside the plane. Claustrophobia is a definite issue here. Perhaps it's the events prior to boarding the plane: thousands of other humans like sheep moving robotically throughout the airport. This alone makes me want to find a dark space, assume the fetal position and stick my thumb in my mouth. It is all of these things but most importantly it is the absolute lack of control over the situation. You have to succumb to the knowledge that once that huge door shuts and you sit uncomfortably with your seatbelt tightly fastened that the next few hours don't belong to you anymore. And that is terrifying.
In "Red Eye" all of these elements are covered using camera angles, sounds and quick editing. From the beginning of the film it's blatantly obvious that Wes Craven hates humans and most assuredly hates to fly. The absolute chaos of an airport is captured so eloquently in this film. That alone made me love it. Stupid humans being difficult, selfish, demanding. Stuffing their mouths with airport food and drink. The feeling of isolation and disconnectedness is deafening. We are all so unaware of each other in this day and age that in a word it's disgusting. Craven is my hero because he really shoves this behavior down your throat during the film. For example, there is a scene pre-flight where a woman dumps her Starbucks iced latte nonsense onto Rachel McAdams and barely apologizes then proceeds to yell to her husband to go get her another one! GROSS! Okay let's move forward. So I'm anxious already during the film and to add insult to injury a very creepy Cillian Murphy appears and I reach for a valium.
Cillian Murphy is definitely headed for stardom. He is the strangest looking man I've ever seen and this lends to his onscreen presence. I can't decide if he is attractive or not. There are moments when all his features seem to align perfectly but then shoot him at another angle and those features take on an unnatural, menancing quality. Looks aside he is a phenomenal actor and his ability to push the envelope with his acting chops is impressive. There will come a time when his presence in a film will atomatically guarantee box office success or at least audience adoration. Much like Gary Oldman. A chameleon actor who everyone loves.
The plot for the film is decent. Cillian Murphy plays hitman, Jackson Rippner ("jack the ripper"!) who uses the very talented Rachel McAdams who plays Lisa Reisert as his pawn in the pending assassination of the Director of Homeland Security. McAdams position at a popular Miami hotel where the politician frequently stays lines her up to make the dirty deed a sure thing. Holding her father (a very slender Brian Cox) as a playing chip in this political game forces McAdams to help further Murphy's cause.
Rachel McAdams is possibly headed for stardom herself that is if she continues to make wise acting decisions. She's solid in this film Her ability to cry silently and without facial emotion is awe inspiring! The relationship between her and Cillian Murphy is believable and unnerving. Imagine if you will putting your life in the hands of two seperate people. The pilot and a cold, sociopathic killer. I think I would die of a rather large panic attack! This made me nervous as well. The majority of the very short (1 hr 15 mins.) film is on the plane and the exchanges between the two characters are chilling to say the least. Wes Craven doesn't spare us anything starting with a shocking headbutt to McAdams when she starts to become emotional. After the violent deed, Cillian Murphy sits up, wipes the blood off his forehead and smiles graciously at the stewardess assuring her everything is fine. Craven really amps up the coldness of Murphy's character more than a few times. There is a moment in the film when Lisa (McAdams) begs to use the bathroom. When Jackson (Murphy) allows this, there is a very disturbing image of him in the aisle watching her that heralds back to Craven's horror film genius.
Subsequent to this scene she tries to get help by writing on the mirror in soap only to have him burst into the bathroom and threaten her. The hand on hand violence in this film is hugely gratifying! There is alot of physical abuse and there are no guns involved until the end.
The film delivers on many levels. It is intense from the beginning until the end. It's not typical of Craven's usual horror fodder but it's good. I felt uncomfortable for the entire 1 hour and 15 minutes. It may not be a film triumph but it was a decent thriller with two excellent actors. It further heightenend my fear of flying and on a basic level addressed some of the security and political issues we have faced after September 11th.
It's refreshing to see that Wes Craven still has it in him to scare us. Now what would make me so happy is if he and John Carpenter revisted their very first films and gave us something along those lines! Now that would be horrifying!
