Red Eye (2005)
The appeal of Red Eye is seeing two great actors engage in a duel of wits, squeezing every bit of excitement from a story helmed by a legendary director who turns a routine plot into a better-than-average thriller. Wes Craven, best known for horror classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, teams with screenwriter Carl Ellsworth and delivers a tight, effective popcorn flick that hits all the right notes and doesn’t overstay its welcome at a lean 85 minutes. But it’s the riveting interplay between leads Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy that anchors the film.
McAdams plays Lisa Reisert, a hotel manager taking a red-eye flight to Miami after the death of her grandmother. While waiting at the airport, Lisa meets a handsome, charming young man named Jackson Rippner (Murphy). The two share a drink together, during which Jackson seems like a perfect gentleman — save for one dark comment Lisa assumes to be a joke — and then end up seated beside each other on the plane. It’s only when they’re in the air that Jackson reveals he works for a domestic terrorist organization trying to assassinate U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Charles Keefe (Jack Scalia), who happens to be staying at Lisa’s hotel in Miami. Threatening her with the murder of her father Joe (Brian Cox), Jackson tells Lisa to phone the hotel and get Keefe to change rooms to make him an easier target for the assassins trying to kill him.
This film is a good example of efficient storytelling. Early on it establishes Lisa as someone able to think clearly and resolve stressful situations. While in a taxi en route to the airport, Lisa’s co-worker Cynthia (Jayma Mays) calls her after reaching an impasse with irate hotel customers. As Cynthia is frazzled and at the end of her wits, Lisa calmly talks her through the issue. This turns out to be a handy skill when she learns the truth about Jackson and has to figure a way out of his seemingly inescapable blackmail. McAdams understands exactly the role she has to play and portrays a plucky heroine we want to see save the day.
In the same way, Murphy does a fantastic job transforming from an apparently nice guy Lisa agrees to an impromptu date with to revealing himself as a cold-blooded killer. Murphy has made quite a career for himself since Red Eye, winning an Oscar as Best Actor for Oppenheimer and being hailed as one of Ireland’s greatest actors. Red Eye came out early in his career and he makes the most of his role, turning Jackson into a villain we love to hate. They say eyes are the window to the soul, and Murphy’s piercing blue eyes alternatively seem warm and cold depending on the scene.
Despite its PG-13 rating, Red Eye avoids feeling overly sanitized and neutered. There’s a scene where a character is stabbed that feels visceral, even with the lack of blood due to the film’s rating. A subsequent chase scene, however, becomes somewhat unrealistic as a character is able to run despite their injuries. Another problem is the way in which the villain meets their fate. Brian Cox has little to do in a supporting part and I suppose they wanted to give him a big moment, but McAdams deserved to play a more decisive role in the story’s resolution. All in all, though, this is a fun movie that delivers exactly what it promises and offers a great showcase for its two stars.
7/10
