Eye of the Beholder
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Movie Reviews of Eye of the Beholder
Movie Review: Very suspecting
Summary: 4 Stars
A surveillance expert is hired to follow a woman suspected of blackmailing the son of a government official. Then he discovers she may have been responsible for a series of murders spanning ten years.Movie Review: A real let-down from Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Summary: 3 Stars
I have a slight advantage writing this review as the DVD with the director's commentary is playing in the background. Apparently this was based on 40's style pulp fiction he read while filming Priscilla and decided immediately that it would be his next film.
It took 7 years to get the financing, asking for a $20 million budget he ended up with $11 million and financed much of it himself. That alone should put up warning lights.
The cast has little to work with. Almost the entire film is made in Montreal in winter and edited to death. There is even an entire scene of Ewan McGregor in drag that is just barely visible if you follow the director's commentary on the DVD version. The film itself is so low budget that he fills in as a double for several characters on several scenes and Ashley Judd's wardrobe was nearly a third of the ENTIRE budget.
The premise is that a man called the eye (McGregor) who is some sort of technical spy is so wrapped up in his job that he doesn't even realize his wife has left with his daughter for weeks. She's apparently gone several years and he is still not quite right in the head over it when he is assigned to follow the Ashley Judd character. For some reason he becomes obsessed with her to the point of helping her cover her tracks as a serial murderer.
The plot becomes absurd as his obsession deepens and the police begin to catch up with her. When he reveals himself and she betrays him it is almost as if the writer and director didn't know what to do and the movie just ends leaving nothing resolved and no questions answered.
Beholder is about obsession and loss and the slow loss of reason and the ability to see beyond what is right in front of you. It is a spiral into a strange psychosis shared by 2 people as seen from the opposing ends of a spyglass.
If you are into film noir and would like to try something diffent than the usual popcorn thriller this is an ok movie. If you just want entertainment without having to think about what is or isn't happening then don't get this, it definetly won't appeal to you.
Movie Review: Great movie; BAD ending!
Summary: 3 Stars
Let me start out by saying that despite the slow movement of the film, i really dug it. I wouldn't consider it a thriller so much as a psychological exploration into the minds of two deranged halves of the same coin. Ewan McGregor (the eye) has lost his daughter, his wife, and his mind is starting to slip (as noted by the fact that the only person he really truly talks to in most of the movie is the imaginary spectre of his daughter).Joanne (Ashley Judd) has lost her father, her innocence, and her mind is already long gone.Both of them are victims of loneliness, socipathological tendencies, and pain that they never seem to show. Both of them are so ice cold throughout the movie - until something triggers them and you see just how much pain they must be in. And how much pain they are causing.
McGregor and Judd do great in this movie - although they do lack chemistry. This doesn't hinder the movie though since you almost never see them together. McGregor chases, stalks, hunts her around the world in her desperate flee from the police and herself. He grows to understand and accept her completley, as demonstrated by the way he predicts her moves towards the end.
The thing that really ruins this movie is just that - the ending. It's terrible. The whole movie builds up to this climax of them meeting and .... well it's disappointing to say the least. And confusing.
Now if someone could just get ahold of the script and the actors and make the ending CLIMATIC instead of ANTICLIMATIC. Have them kill eachother or themselves or something anything but the horrible thing they have patched in and called a conclusion.
Movie Review: Plotless, Arthouse Junk masquerading as a Mainstream Film.
Summary: 3 Stars
What a Sad, Sad Waste. "Eye of the Beholder" has Two Rapidly Up-and-coming Actors (Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd) in the leads, enough Visual Style to fill 3 films, and a great set up that looks like it should lead to a great film... It doesn't. The Film hits a Crossroad at about the 30 Minute mark, and the Director (Stefan Elliot) takes the Arthouse Route instead of the Mainstream Route... A route which leads the film absolutely Nowhere. The non-existent plot gets Bogged down with Crap performances, Overkill on the Directors part and a total Lack of Tension, Thrills or Direction.
Even Dialogue seems to have been cut, all for the sake of the Directors Warped Vision. The Film ends up looking like a Long running 70's TV Series with Episodes Missing here and there. The Actors are all very talented and they deserve Much better material. Ewan seems Bored and Embarrassed, which is forgivable, as so would any actor in his role. Ashley is actually Quite Good, she has a Sympathetic role which comes across well and allows her to show a lot of Emotion. In the end, it's Jason Priestly who Steals the Show. He proves himself to be quite a Versatile Actor and he nearly makes the film worthwhile.
"Eye of the Beholder" still gets a 3 out of 5, because the first 40 minutes are genuinely Interesting, Jason Priestly gives a Very Cool performance and Ashley Judd looks Great. Apart from all that, it's all down hill.
Movie Review: I continue to re-watch this and don't know why
Summary: 3 Stars
Let's start by saying that I love Ashley Judd. Not only is she beautiful but she is one of the best film actresses around today. I also like Ewan Macgregor. This film looked like a sure winner to me, and then I watched it. I've watched it several times since then and still wonder just what the heck this thing is about. Ashley is beautiful but lethal and at the same time I believe the audience is suppose to be sympathetic towards her. Ewan is some kind of agent who watches people who just becomes infatuated with Ashley and becomes her protector even though she is out murdering people. Ewan is off in another world anyway, having conversations with a little girl (I believe is his dead sister) who isn't really there. I don't know who the bigger mental case in this film is...Ashley or Ewan. This film is just plain weird with an ending that really couldn't be any other way. I've watched this DVD a number of times and I think I'll watch it again right now. This is one everyone should watch just to lose some sleep over.