Eye of the Beholder (film)
| Eye of the Beholder | |
|---|---|
 International release poster | |
| Directed by | Stephan Elliott |
| Produced by | Nicolas Clermont |
| Screenplay by | Stephan Elliott |
| Based on |
The Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Marius de Vries |
| Cinematography | Guy Dufaux |
| Edited by | Sue Blainey |
Production company | |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 109 minutes[1] |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million |
| Box office | $17.6 million |
Eye of the Beholder is a 1999 Canadian-British-Australian mystery thriller film that employs magical realism. The film, based on Marc Behm's novel of the same name and a remake of Claude Miller's 1983 French thriller Deadly Circuit, is directed and adapted by Stephan Elliott.
Starring Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, the film is an international co-production of Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Plot
Stephen Wilson aka "The Eye" (Ewan McGregor) is an intelligence agent whose current assignment is to track down the socialite son of his wealthy boss and find out what trouble he has gotten himself into. This leads him to Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd), a serial killer who is in a relationship with the son, whom she murders. Stephen is a witness to the crime.
At Penn Station in Pittsburgh, Eris commits yet another murder, enabling Stephen to finally corner her as he prepares to call for backup. Instead of turning her in, Stephen follows her in an effort to save her. He hallucinates constantly that his young daughter - who he hasn't seen since his ex-wife took custody of her - is with him, and comes to think of Eris as a vulnerable, lost child.
Stephen follows her across the country and through several murders. He soon discovers that Eris and her father were homeless and that he abandoned her, explaining her pathological hatred of men. When Eris helps a rich blind man (Patrick Bergin) in an airport, the two become involved, fall in love and become engaged, and it looks like they might even live a happy life together. Stephen, who has witnessed all of this, cannot bear to let her go, and is willing to do anything to stop her from having a relationship with another man. While the couple is on the way to the chapel for the wedding, Stephen shoots out one of their tires and the car crashes, killing Eris' fiancé. Stephen follows a grief-stricken Eris as she takes off for the desert.
A drug addict named Gary (Jason Priestly) picks up Eris when her car dies, and tries to seduce her; when she rebuffs his advances, he beats her and forces her to inject heroin so he can rape her while she is unconscious. Stephen arrives just in time to save Eris and give Gary a thorough beating. Eris loses her unborn baby before fleeing to Alaska, with Stephen on her trail.
In Alaska, Stephen gains the courage to ask Eris out, as he is a frequent patron of the diner at which she waitresses. They have a few drinks in the evening, both getting emotional, and Eris mentions where she would like to be buried when she dies. She then says she has nothing to give him and that he should leave her alone. The next day the police, as well as Eris' psychiatrist (Geneviève Bujold), come to the diner to arrest her. Stephen tries to save her, taking her to his trailer. There she is horrified to find out that he has been following her. She shoots him, although only with a blank cartridge. She flees and he follows her on a motorcycle, where he catches up to her, and she realizes he is the "Angel" who saved her time and time again. At this revelation she crashes the car. Before she dies, she tells him she knows that he is her "Angel".
Cast
- Ewan McGregor as Stephen Wilson/"The Eye"/"The Angel"
- Ashley Judd as Joanna Eris
- Patrick Bergin as Alexander Leonard
- Geneviève Bujold as Dr. Jeanne Brault
- Jason Priestly as Gary
- k.d. lang as Hilary
- Steven McCarthy as Paul Hugo
- Vlasta Vrana as Mr. Hugo, Sr.
- David Nerman as Mickey Argyle
- Jeanine Thierault as Nathy
- Don Jordan as Toohey
- Ann-Marie and Kaitlin Brown as Lucy Wilson
Reception
Box office
Eye of the Beholder was a financial failure in theaters, grossing $16,500,786 domestically and $1,088,919 overseas for a worldwide total of $18,260,865 on a $35 million budget.[2]
Critical reception
The film received largely negative reviews, with critics panning the improbable and muddled plot, as well as Elliott's direction.[3][4][5] The film currently holds a 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 86 reviews.[6] On Metacritic, the film has a 29/100 rating based on 26 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[7] CinemaScore gave it a rating of "F" based on surveys from general audiences.
References
- ↑ "EYE OF THE BEHOLDER (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 10 November 1999. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
- ↑ "Eye of the Beholder". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/eye-of-the-beholder-20000128
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/012800eye-film-review.html
- ↑ http://www.boxoffice.com/reviews/2008-08-eye-of-the-beholder?q=Eye+of+the+Beholder
- ↑ "Eye of the Beholder". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
- ↑ "Eye of the Beholder". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
External links
- Eye of the Beholder at the Internet Movie Database
- Eye of the Beholder at Box Office Mojo
- Eye of the Beholder at Rotten Tomatoes
- Eye of the Beholder at Metacritic