Thrillers usually breach logic and plausibility with impunity, but Australian director Stephan Elliott's "Eye of the Beholder" is so wrongheaded and strange it threatens to become its own genre.
You'd expect that from the director of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but the execution seems far removed from what he intended, recasting the thriller as a psychological art movie in the manner of 1960s Alain Resnais films.
The first feature to be distributed by Destination Films, this overproduced work should quickly fade from public consciousness.
Elliott, who adapted a novel by Marc Behm, gets credit for trying to breathe some life into a dead form. But he has overcompensated in such a way that it is virtually impossible not to laugh in distress at what he has perpetrated. His movie is loaded with a lot of decorous, empty style, with every shot calling attention to itself so relentlessly that the content can't begin to support such stylistic flamboyance.
Elliott hasn't made a movie so much as a Xerox -- a copy of a copy. Specifically, his film reworks one of Brian De Palma's extended homages to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" or Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom".
The real question is why actors as good as Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd were ever attracted to the project. McGregor, playing an agent known only by his spy codeword, Eye, is an intrepid, virtuoso surveillance expert for the British consulate in Washington. Investigating the corrupt son of the British ambassador, he records a shocking murder perpetuated by a mysterious woman (Judd).
Eye trails the woman to a train station. Within hours, she has killed another man, stolen a valuable diamond and retreated to her dank Manhattan apartment that exists in a noirish back lot. (The film was shot mostly in Montreal.) With Eye installed in the apartment next to the woman, Elliott poaches an identical shot from De Palma's "Snake Eyes" -- the floating camera that tracks between the two apartments, peering down at their activities.
Elliott surrenders the more interesting procedural aspect -- Eye's investigation of the killer aided by a lot of high-tech digital equipment (Eye's one compassionate ally is an operator played by k.d. lang) -- to play out the twisted psychology that binds the two characters.
Judd's Joanna remains traumatized by her father's abandonment of her as a child on Christmas Eve, and Eye is haunted by the specter of his 7-year-old daughter's disappearance. (For much of the first hour, Elliott has the child materialize in the form of hallucinations and dream images.) But rather than try to slow down the plot and provide rational, dramatic insight into his characters and fine-tune the situations to create some semblance of order, Elliott bludgeons the film with a succession of joyless set pieces.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Behavior Worldwise in association with
Village Roadshow-Ambridge Film Partnership
A Hit & Run/Filmline International Production
A Stephan Elliott film
Producers: Nicolas Clermont, Tony Smith
Director/screenwriter: Stephan Elliott
Based on the novel by: Marc Behm
Director of photography: Guy Dufaux
Editor: Sue Blainey
Production designer: Jean-Baptiste Tard
Costume designer: Lizzy Gardiner
Music: Marius de Vries
Cast:
Eye: Ewan McGregor
Joanna: Ashley Judd
Hilary: k.d. lang
Gary: Jason Priestley
Dr. Brault: Genevieve Bujold
Alex Leonard: Patrick Bergin
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
You'd expect that from the director of "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert," but the execution seems far removed from what he intended, recasting the thriller as a psychological art movie in the manner of 1960s Alain Resnais films.
The first feature to be distributed by Destination Films, this overproduced work should quickly fade from public consciousness.
Elliott, who adapted a novel by Marc Behm, gets credit for trying to breathe some life into a dead form. But he has overcompensated in such a way that it is virtually impossible not to laugh in distress at what he has perpetrated. His movie is loaded with a lot of decorous, empty style, with every shot calling attention to itself so relentlessly that the content can't begin to support such stylistic flamboyance.
Elliott hasn't made a movie so much as a Xerox -- a copy of a copy. Specifically, his film reworks one of Brian De Palma's extended homages to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" or Michael Powell's "Peeping Tom".
The real question is why actors as good as Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd were ever attracted to the project. McGregor, playing an agent known only by his spy codeword, Eye, is an intrepid, virtuoso surveillance expert for the British consulate in Washington. Investigating the corrupt son of the British ambassador, he records a shocking murder perpetuated by a mysterious woman (Judd).
Eye trails the woman to a train station. Within hours, she has killed another man, stolen a valuable diamond and retreated to her dank Manhattan apartment that exists in a noirish back lot. (The film was shot mostly in Montreal.) With Eye installed in the apartment next to the woman, Elliott poaches an identical shot from De Palma's "Snake Eyes" -- the floating camera that tracks between the two apartments, peering down at their activities.
Elliott surrenders the more interesting procedural aspect -- Eye's investigation of the killer aided by a lot of high-tech digital equipment (Eye's one compassionate ally is an operator played by k.d. lang) -- to play out the twisted psychology that binds the two characters.
Judd's Joanna remains traumatized by her father's abandonment of her as a child on Christmas Eve, and Eye is haunted by the specter of his 7-year-old daughter's disappearance. (For much of the first hour, Elliott has the child materialize in the form of hallucinations and dream images.) But rather than try to slow down the plot and provide rational, dramatic insight into his characters and fine-tune the situations to create some semblance of order, Elliott bludgeons the film with a succession of joyless set pieces.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Behavior Worldwise in association with
Village Roadshow-Ambridge Film Partnership
A Hit & Run/Filmline International Production
A Stephan Elliott film
Producers: Nicolas Clermont, Tony Smith
Director/screenwriter: Stephan Elliott
Based on the novel by: Marc Behm
Director of photography: Guy Dufaux
Editor: Sue Blainey
Production designer: Jean-Baptiste Tard
Costume designer: Lizzy Gardiner
Music: Marius de Vries
Cast:
Eye: Ewan McGregor
Joanna: Ashley Judd
Hilary: k.d. lang
Gary: Jason Priestley
Dr. Brault: Genevieve Bujold
Alex Leonard: Patrick Bergin
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/10/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Structural Weakness Dooms 'Monument' / Depiction of Boston criminals has atmosphere but not much substance
By Frank Scheck
MONTREAL -- Ted Demme's portrait of lowlife Boston criminals boasts an impressive cast (as does seemingly every other indie movie lately), evocative atmosphere and some sharp dialogue, but the picture ultimately falls under the weight of its pretensions and lack of substance. Shown at Sundance under the title "Snitch", "Monument Ave". was recently showcased at the Montreal World Film Festival and is due for commercial release Sept. 25 from Lions Gate. Boxoffice prospects are minimal.
Mike Armstrong's colorful script deals with a group of young, petty Irish criminals living in the Charlestown section of Boston. They spend their time snorting cocaine, pulling off car robberies, playing spirited street hockey and hanging around the local pub having Tarantino-like arguments about the merits of various teen movies ("Ferris Bueller" vs. "Breakfast Club") and which female stars they'd like to sleep with. To their credit, they realize that none of the starlets they fantasize about would give them the time of day.
The de facto leader of the group is fast-talking, chain-smoking Bobby, played by the ever-charismatic Denis Leary. The rest of the pack includes Bobby's sidekick Mouse (the talented Ian Hart), the hollow-eyed Digger (John Diehl), the bearlike Red (Noah Emmerich) and Teddy (rising star Billy Crudup). New to the group is Bobby's fresh-off-the-boat cousin Seamus (Jason Barry), who has just arrived from Dublin and is shocked by what he encounters. Watching from the sidelines is Bobby's long-suffering girlfriend Katy (a deglamorized Famke Janssen).
The area is under the iron hand of local gangster Jackie O'Hara (Colm Meaney), and when Teddy is brutally shot in front of the others one night at the pub, everyone knows that O'Hara was behind it. They refuse to say anything to the investigating detective (Martin Sheen), who is unable to crack the code of silence that exists among the criminal fraternity. Privately, though, Bobby is seething; when O'Hara has the temerity to pay his respects at his victim's funeral, his anger intensifies and eventually leads to violence.
"Monument Ave". is heavier on atmosphere than plot, and the dialogue, sometimes difficult to understand through the Irish brogues, has a contrived feel that the actors are not totally able to overcome. There are some moments (not even whole scenes) that resonate, and an episode in which the simmering Bobby leads the group in the brief abduction of a black pedestrian is powerfully realized. The performances are uniformly fine, with all of the actors, even those with little screen time, registering strongly.
MONUMENT AVE.
Lions Gate Releasing
A Filmline International, Phoenician Films,
Clinica Estetitco and Tribeca Independent film
in association with Screen Partners
A Spanky Pictures and Apostle production
Credits: Director: Ted Demme; Screenwriter: Mike Armstrong; Producers: Joel Stillerman, Ted Demme, Jim Serpico, Nicolas Clermont, Elie Samaha; Director of photography: Adam Kimmel; Editor: Jeffrey Wolf. Cast: Bobby: Denis Leary; Mouse: Ian Hart; Katy: Famke Janssen; Jackie O'Hara: Colm Meaney; Hanlon: Martin Sheen; Seamus: Jason Barry; Teddy: Billy Crudup; Digger: John Diehl; Red: Noah Emmerich. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 94 minutes.
By Frank Scheck
MONTREAL -- Ted Demme's portrait of lowlife Boston criminals boasts an impressive cast (as does seemingly every other indie movie lately), evocative atmosphere and some sharp dialogue, but the picture ultimately falls under the weight of its pretensions and lack of substance. Shown at Sundance under the title "Snitch", "Monument Ave". was recently showcased at the Montreal World Film Festival and is due for commercial release Sept. 25 from Lions Gate. Boxoffice prospects are minimal.
Mike Armstrong's colorful script deals with a group of young, petty Irish criminals living in the Charlestown section of Boston. They spend their time snorting cocaine, pulling off car robberies, playing spirited street hockey and hanging around the local pub having Tarantino-like arguments about the merits of various teen movies ("Ferris Bueller" vs. "Breakfast Club") and which female stars they'd like to sleep with. To their credit, they realize that none of the starlets they fantasize about would give them the time of day.
The de facto leader of the group is fast-talking, chain-smoking Bobby, played by the ever-charismatic Denis Leary. The rest of the pack includes Bobby's sidekick Mouse (the talented Ian Hart), the hollow-eyed Digger (John Diehl), the bearlike Red (Noah Emmerich) and Teddy (rising star Billy Crudup). New to the group is Bobby's fresh-off-the-boat cousin Seamus (Jason Barry), who has just arrived from Dublin and is shocked by what he encounters. Watching from the sidelines is Bobby's long-suffering girlfriend Katy (a deglamorized Famke Janssen).
The area is under the iron hand of local gangster Jackie O'Hara (Colm Meaney), and when Teddy is brutally shot in front of the others one night at the pub, everyone knows that O'Hara was behind it. They refuse to say anything to the investigating detective (Martin Sheen), who is unable to crack the code of silence that exists among the criminal fraternity. Privately, though, Bobby is seething; when O'Hara has the temerity to pay his respects at his victim's funeral, his anger intensifies and eventually leads to violence.
"Monument Ave". is heavier on atmosphere than plot, and the dialogue, sometimes difficult to understand through the Irish brogues, has a contrived feel that the actors are not totally able to overcome. There are some moments (not even whole scenes) that resonate, and an episode in which the simmering Bobby leads the group in the brief abduction of a black pedestrian is powerfully realized. The performances are uniformly fine, with all of the actors, even those with little screen time, registering strongly.
MONUMENT AVE.
Lions Gate Releasing
A Filmline International, Phoenician Films,
Clinica Estetitco and Tribeca Independent film
in association with Screen Partners
A Spanky Pictures and Apostle production
Credits: Director: Ted Demme; Screenwriter: Mike Armstrong; Producers: Joel Stillerman, Ted Demme, Jim Serpico, Nicolas Clermont, Elie Samaha; Director of photography: Adam Kimmel; Editor: Jeffrey Wolf. Cast: Bobby: Denis Leary; Mouse: Ian Hart; Katy: Famke Janssen; Jackie O'Hara: Colm Meaney; Hanlon: Martin Sheen; Seamus: Jason Barry; Teddy: Billy Crudup; Digger: John Diehl; Red: Noah Emmerich. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 94 minutes.
- 9/15/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Director Paul Quinn's debut feature obviously came to life around the dinner table; his brother Aidan is the star, and another brother, Declan, is the cinematographer.
The result, far from being a family ego trip, is a quietly moving tale. While not being overly commercial, there's much to recommend it, not the least of which is an outstanding cast that also includes James Caan, Stephen Rea, Colm Meaney and John Cusack. This Canadian-Irish co-production, showcased at the Montreal World Film Festival, could garner a few art house dollars on its way to video and cable.
An Irish saga set in the present day and 1939, "This Is My Father" details the efforts of Kieran Johnson (Caan), a burned-out Illinois high school teacher, to discover the truth about his parents. Kieran, a widower who, along with his sister, cares for his mute, stroke-victim mother, discovers some old photos and decides to travel to Ireland in search of his roots. Accompanied by his teenage nephew, he lands in the village where he was born.
There, he encounters the proprietors of a small bed and breakfast; Mrs. Kearney (Moira Deady) and her effeminate son Seamus (Meaney). Mrs. Kearney, a fortune teller, doesn't need special powers to tell Kieran the truth about his parents, which is unveiled in a series of flashbacks.
Fiona (Moya Farrelly) is a young, vivacious woman living with her bitter mother, the Widow Flynn (Gina Moxley). She begins a romance with Kieran O'Day (Quinn), but when the couple take their relationship to a physical level, a scandal develops. Kieran, feeling guilty about being involved with an underage girl, seeks solace from the local priest (Rea), who seems most interested in hearing the physical details of the affair. Eventually, the situation ends in tragedy, with the young lovers becoming the victims of the town's moral climate.
Unfolding at a leisurely pace, the film avoids being overly sentimental thanks to its sharp writing, vivid performances and welcome doses of humor. Not every plot digression works equally well; a series of present-day scenes involving the young nephew and two flirtatious Irish lasses is mostly a time-waster, and a brief interlude in which the lovers play touch football on a beach with a pilot who drops out of the sky seems mostly an excuse to drag in Cusack for a quick, albeit meaningless, appearance.
Quinn gives one of his most affecting performances as the young man confused by love, and newcomer Farrelly is a charming ingenue. Caan, quite fine, is more restrained than usual, and Rea provides a pungent cameo that is simultaneously hilarious and repugnant.
THIS IS MY FATHER
Behaviour Distribution Inc.
Director-screenwriter: Paul Quinn
Producers: Nicolas Clermont, Philip King
Executive producers: Elie Samaha,
Kieran Corrigan
Co-producer: Stewart Harding
Director of photography: Declan Quinn
Editor: Glenn Berman
Composer: Donal Lunny
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kieran O'Day: Aidan Quinn
Kieran Johnson: James Caan
Eddie Sharp: John Cusack
Father Quinn: Stephen Rea
Mrs. Kearney: Moira Deady
Seamus Kearney: Colm Meaney
Fiona Flynn: Moya Farrelly
Widow Flynn: Gina Moxley
Jack: Jacob Tierney
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The result, far from being a family ego trip, is a quietly moving tale. While not being overly commercial, there's much to recommend it, not the least of which is an outstanding cast that also includes James Caan, Stephen Rea, Colm Meaney and John Cusack. This Canadian-Irish co-production, showcased at the Montreal World Film Festival, could garner a few art house dollars on its way to video and cable.
An Irish saga set in the present day and 1939, "This Is My Father" details the efforts of Kieran Johnson (Caan), a burned-out Illinois high school teacher, to discover the truth about his parents. Kieran, a widower who, along with his sister, cares for his mute, stroke-victim mother, discovers some old photos and decides to travel to Ireland in search of his roots. Accompanied by his teenage nephew, he lands in the village where he was born.
There, he encounters the proprietors of a small bed and breakfast; Mrs. Kearney (Moira Deady) and her effeminate son Seamus (Meaney). Mrs. Kearney, a fortune teller, doesn't need special powers to tell Kieran the truth about his parents, which is unveiled in a series of flashbacks.
Fiona (Moya Farrelly) is a young, vivacious woman living with her bitter mother, the Widow Flynn (Gina Moxley). She begins a romance with Kieran O'Day (Quinn), but when the couple take their relationship to a physical level, a scandal develops. Kieran, feeling guilty about being involved with an underage girl, seeks solace from the local priest (Rea), who seems most interested in hearing the physical details of the affair. Eventually, the situation ends in tragedy, with the young lovers becoming the victims of the town's moral climate.
Unfolding at a leisurely pace, the film avoids being overly sentimental thanks to its sharp writing, vivid performances and welcome doses of humor. Not every plot digression works equally well; a series of present-day scenes involving the young nephew and two flirtatious Irish lasses is mostly a time-waster, and a brief interlude in which the lovers play touch football on a beach with a pilot who drops out of the sky seems mostly an excuse to drag in Cusack for a quick, albeit meaningless, appearance.
Quinn gives one of his most affecting performances as the young man confused by love, and newcomer Farrelly is a charming ingenue. Caan, quite fine, is more restrained than usual, and Rea provides a pungent cameo that is simultaneously hilarious and repugnant.
THIS IS MY FATHER
Behaviour Distribution Inc.
Director-screenwriter: Paul Quinn
Producers: Nicolas Clermont, Philip King
Executive producers: Elie Samaha,
Kieran Corrigan
Co-producer: Stewart Harding
Director of photography: Declan Quinn
Editor: Glenn Berman
Composer: Donal Lunny
Color/stereo
Cast:
Kieran O'Day: Aidan Quinn
Kieran Johnson: James Caan
Eddie Sharp: John Cusack
Father Quinn: Stephen Rea
Mrs. Kearney: Moira Deady
Seamus Kearney: Colm Meaney
Fiona Flynn: Moya Farrelly
Widow Flynn: Gina Moxley
Jack: Jacob Tierney
Running time -- 120 minutes
No MPAA rating...
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