Release Date: January 28, 2000
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Ashley Judd, k.d. lang, Patrick Bergin, Jason Priestly, Genevieve Bujold
Directed by: Stephan Elliott
Distributed by: Destination Films
MPAA Rating: R (some strong violence, sexuality, language, brief drug content)
It's painfully obvious when a movie wants to be something it's not. In the case of Stephan Elliott's Eye of the Beholder, the film in question wants to be a dark character study, the kind that gets rave reviews at film festivals and then goes on to make a few bucks on the domestic market before fading quietly into rental shelf obscurity. And given Elliott (Welcome to Woop Woop)'s Australian heritage, there's no question that he's going to try and spice it up with a bit of international flavor in the directing department. If Elliott were from Britain or France, critics would talk about the exotic European style in Beholder, but as the cinema men from Down Under haven't yet made a name for themselves, this Aussie film is bound to take a few shots in the gut. The bad part is: the film deserves it.
Eye of the Beholder is noir without the noir, suspense without the suspense, and action without the action. It features a troubled British secret agent known as the Eye (Ewan McGregor), who works for the British Embassy in the United States and has recently been sent to investigate the free-spending ways of his boss's son. Things go sour, however, when the prodigal son is knifed to death by his lady friend, a ruthless serial killer and similarly troubled soul named Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd). But the Eye is intrigued by this beautiful young woman, particularly because she reminds him of his long-lost daughter. His obsession grows and he invents elaborate excuses not to capture Joanna, quitting his job and alienating himself from the world around him, all the while unaware that his fascination may have become too much for his own good.
The interesting plot device in Eye of the Beholder is the Eye's long-lost daughter, who haunts the agent to no end. She appears on-screen as physically tangible, but it quickly becomes apparent that she is noticeable only to the film's protagonist, and her lyrical, singsong dialogue serves as a sort of goading conscience for McGregor's character. It's a neat effect, and in a better film, it might have helped develop a crucial back story for the hero. But like most things in Eye of the Beholder, it's only done halfway, and so the long-lost daughter eventually becomes more cumbersome than not.
Also on the list of the film's awkward components is the film's entire second half. The first hour is nearly engaging, as the Eye skips across the United States in pursuit of his quarry, always one step behind and sometimes in ingenious fashion. But the second hour drags -- it will make most audience members wonder why the film has to be nearly 120 minutes in length, especially when the ending is so anticlimactic. According to recent trade reports, the film's script (written by director Elliott and based on the novel by Marc Behm) ended differently than the way director Elliott eventually chose to film it. Doubtless the scripted finale was closer to the novel's final pages, and though there's no evidence, the initial conclusion was probably the better one.
Aside from its two big-name stars and a passable first half, there's little to like about Eye of the Beholder. The Marius De Vries score is a novelty worth pointing out, for it adds the correct atmosphere for a spy thriller (it's very reminiscent of the original score for 1997's The Saint); like all novelties, however, it eventually wears thin for its lack of originality. Complementing the score is a bit of well-planned photography by Guy Dufaux, and these two elements stand out the most in a drab, uninteresting film. Mostly, though, viewers will be aware of the cheap dialogue and tired plot, and will find that no matter what the eye, there is no beauty in this film.
all contents © 2000 Craig Roush