Red Eye (2005) Review
9.5/10
Number of watches at time of review: 30
synopsis
Hotel manager Lisa Reisert encounters a charming man in the airport before her flight home and expects a normal, if turbulent, ride. But when sinister motives are revealed behind the man’s interest in her, the flight becomes anything but ordinary.
spoiler-free review
A solid sub-90 minute thriller, Red Eye is a hidden gem from director Wes Craven (Scream, Nightmare on Elm Street). With stellar acting from both leads, Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, and wonderfully acted minor characters, the movie will make you feel like you’re on that plane with them. If you like psychological thrillers with a bit of slasher thrown in and some comedy for good measure, then Red Eye is the movie for you.
directed by Wes Craven
screenplay by Carl Ellsworth
story by Carl Ellsworth and Dan Foos
cinematography by Robert D. Yeoman
music by Marco Beltrami
spoiler review
The movie draws you in from its first moments with a striking score from Marco Beltrami and a setup montage for the villains that intrigues you into wanting to know more. The hard cut to hotel receptionist Cynthia (Jayma Mays) leaves you eager to find out what’s going to become of the items you saw in the montage, like the wallet that was swiped off a desk next to pictures of a high-school age Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams). The suspense is a real strength of Red Eye, and is one of the places where Wes Craven’s direction really shines.
As for another area where Craven’s direction is standout, the movie is filled with memorable shots. The most glaringly obvious one is a shot that starts near the front of the plane and ends zoomed in to Lisa’s frightened eye right as the plane is taking off. The motion of the camera and the spotlight on both Lisa and Jackson (Cillian Murphy) courtesy of the overhead reading light make the shot instantly memorable, and really make you feel what Lisa is feeling.
The writing of Red Eye is solid, with well-written characters and dialogue that will leave you eagerly awaiting the reveal of the meaning behind the words. For example, when Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Charles Keefe (Jack Scalia), is introduced in a clip of a press conference he spoke at, it’s very ambiguous what his political intentions are or if he’s supposed to be one of the ‘good guys’ or not. Eventually, though, it’s shown that he’s a loving husband and father of two, and that his intentions aren’t malicious. This ambiguity is similar to how Jackson’s motives aren’t clear at first, though in his case his intentions aren’t so pure. The reveal of Jackson’s true motive in talking with Lisa is tense, and really shows the strength of the writing and of McAdams and Murphy’s acting. Jackson’s demand that Lisa call her hotel during the flight to move Keefe to a room where Jackson’s people would be able to kill him, threatening to kill her father Joe (Brian Cox) if she doesn’t do as he asks.
In terms of suspense, Red Eye is exceedingly well done. From the moment that Jackson reveals his intentions you’re locked in, desperate to know how – or even if – Lisa is going to get herself out of the situation. Lisa is written as a smart and capable character who doesn’t crack, even under the immense pressure she’s put under. She keeps looking for ways to get herself and the others at danger to safety, despite the threat looming over her. Each escape attempt will have you on the edge of your seat, hoping that she’ll succeed. Most of her plans are ruined due to bad luck, like when the phone cuts out and she pretends to do what Jackson asks, but the man across from them shows that the phones are down. When Lisa finally manages to get away from Jackson it’s a breath of fresh air, but the relief is short-lived as he manages to chase her down once again.
Red Eye is a movie steeped in 2000s charm, from the frosted tips of background characters to the built in phones on the plane. The most glaring piece of evidence of the time, however, is the emphasis put on Homeland Security and how flying has changed in the past few years leading up to the movie. For example, the fact that the assassination attempt is against the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security is something that only could have occurred after 2001, since the position didn’t exist beforehand. It’s a blatantly post-9/11 America, when people weren’t fully used to how strict airport security had become. One woman (Angela Paton) remarks that “travel is war these days” when Lisa accidentally bumps her suitcase into the woman’s combat boots. This interaction is just one of the many showcases of the wonderful character interactions that Red Eye is chock full of.
A standout background character of the film is Rebecca (Brittany Oaks), who’s flying on her own for the first time. Her introduction, where she insists to her mother that she’ll be alright because “[she’s] eleven, not nine” is a perfect way of communicating her character loud and clear. It comes as no surprise, then, when she’s the one who notices that something strange is afoot with Lisa and Jackson. It may be frustrating to the audience that her insistence on something odd going on is brushed away by the young flight attendant (Monica McSwain) who’s monitoring her, but there’s a moment of deep satisfaction when, during the climactic chase scene near the end of the movie, she manages to trip Jackson as he chases Lisa down the aisle of the plane. All of the falls in the movie feel real, their impact solid, which makes any time Jackson falls all the more satisfying and any time Lisa falls all the more worrying.
Speaking of stunt work, the action in Red Eye is very well done. When the assassination attempt against Keefe is put into action, Cynthia is able to get Keefe’s family and security personnel to safety in time, the sequence of which includes an explosion where two security guards go flying forwards due to the blast (Side note: seeing the behind the scenes footage of the rehearsal for this sequence where the stunt people just jump and fall seemingly due to no reason is hilarious, I highly recommend watching the full blooper reel for fun moments like that). Another moment that stands out is during the end cat and mouse sequence when Jackson finally catches Lisa and he throws her over the stair banister. The tumble down the stairs feels real, and will have you wincing at Lisa’s pain.
The catharsis of Jackson's final defeat is extremely satisfying, and seeing Lisa reunite with Cynthia and Keefe at the hotel afterwards is deeply comforting. All in all, Red Eye is a good thriller with expert direction from Wes Craven, and a satisfying setup that lends itself well to rewatches.
personal connection
Full disclosure here, Red Eye is one of my favorite movies and this review definitely shows that. I think it's incredibly well done, and the characters mean a lot to me, so any hope of objectivity has kind of been thrown out of the window with this one.
Also, please bear with me as I figure out the format of my reviews! I haven't totally settled in to whether or not I want to do full recaps or more section-based commentary on the different elements of what I'm reviewing. That being said, I hope you enjoyed. :)