About Movies I Like: Red Eye

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RED EYE, a mid-2000’s suspense thriller is a movie I like. It’s not grand or monumental, but it does certain things right and therefore is more enjoyable to watch than scores of films from this genre that get more adulation. I’m actually surprised that it has such a low IMDb score and high Rotten Tomatoes rating. Usually it’s RT that gets it wrong; consensus is no way to get a good read on a film.

I’ll save that for another piece.

First of all, let me confess my bias. Rachel McAdams is gosh dang cute as it gets and always will be. Not only that, she puts in a really good performance on this one. The whole idea behind Red Eye is sort of a silly reach, but she throws all she’s got into it. All set ups are paid off; there’s a bunch of visual storytelling at the beginning, and I will say, it does take almost too long for the inciting moment. Almost, but not quite. There’s a great moment when she gets a drink dumped on her and has to go the bathroom. While changing and not getting upset, we see a scar. So we learn three things: something violent happened in the past, she’s able to be calm and collected, and she’s resourceful.

These are little things, but it’s amazing how many great storytellers neglect them.

Okay, how about the bad guy. Peaky Blinders is delightful. He’s just a real jerk and he seems to be very serious and yet still take great pleasure in messing with our nice young lady protagonist. He’s constantly applying pressure. Even though a great deal of the film takes place in a space the size of a closet, the story and momentum keep driving on. The stakes are high, and it feels like you’re in that pit. The one with the pendulum.

I like to call this entertaining people.

Maybe the plot is farfetched. Perhaps the ending is a little too easy. This is not a flawless masterpiece, but like I mentioned, it’s a film I like. Tension, more tension, release, roll credits. It’s short and sweet and directed carefully but not in a showy way. And of course, Rachel McAdams. That’s all. Cheers and see you after.