Red Eye (2005)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers (WGA):

Carl Ellsworth (screenplay)
Carl Ellsworth (story) ...

Release Date:

19 August 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Fear Takes Flight

Plot:

A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.

Plot Keywords:

Flight | Hotel | Hotel Manager | Plane | Airport

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Rachel McAdams	...	Lisa Reisert
Cillian Murphy	...	Jackson Rippner
Brian Cox	...	Joe Reisert
Jayma Mays	...	Cynthia
Laura Johnson	...	Blonde Woman
Max Kasch	...	Headphone Kid
Angela Paton	...	Nice Lady
Suzie Plakson	...	Senior Flight Attendant
Jack Scalia	...	Charles Keefe
Terry Press	...	Marianne Taylor (as Teresa Press-Marx)
Robert Pine	...	Bob Taylor
Carl Gilliard	...	Taxi Driver
Mary Kathleen Gordon	...	Airline Representative (as Mary-Kathleen Gordon)
Loren Lester	...	Irate Passenger
Philip Pavel	...	Dallas Ticket Agent

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence, and language.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Australia:M | Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | New Zealand:M | Philippines:PG-13 | Norway:15 | Argentina:13 | Ireland:12A | Indonesia:Dewasa | Brazil:14 | Taiwan:PG-12 | Iceland:14 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Belgium:KT | Czech Republic:15 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles International Airport - 1 World Way, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

DreamWorks SKG

Trivia:

For the movie, fake airline tickets were printed up for passengers to carry and use. On the back was listed 12 "terms and conditions" for buying the ticket, just like on real airline tickets. However, the twelfth read: "All the provisions of this Passenger Ticket and Baggage Claim Check are completely bogus. It's all a bunch of excessive detail, and if you happen to be reading this you've got too much time on your hands. Bring a good book next time."

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Lisa stabs Jack in the throat with the pen, she is seen stabbing it in and pulling it back out, yet in the next scene the pen is still in Jack's throat.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Marianne Taylor: Taylor. Bob and Marianne Taylor.
Cynthia: Just bear with me one second.
Marianne Taylor: There are other hotels in Miami.
Cynthia: I'm really sorry.
Marianne Taylor: What is the problem here? We made these reservations over six months ago.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#22.46)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Look Up

A Breath of "Fresh Air"

Greetings again from the darkness. What a relief ... a thriller that actually is thrilling! New "IT" girl Rachel McAdams ("Wedding Crashers" and "The Notebook") dominates screen time in this nice little classic suspense thriller from famed horror film director Wes Craven ("Scream" movies and "A Nightmare on Elm Street"). Craven even has a cameo as one of the passengers on the plane.

What makes this one work, is the realism of the first 15-20 minutes as we see McAdams interact with 4 or 5 people either in person or on the phone. She is a natural. When she meets Cillian Murphy (the Scarecrow in "Batman Begins") in what appears to be happenstance, the film really takes flight. Watching the two yuppie-types flirt while the audience knows something evil is brewing, is bewitching film-making! The plane boarding sequence is mesmerizing and the 30 plus minutes onboard is excruciatingly claustrophobic. Craven keeps us guessing as to the involvement of others and if anyone will come to her rescue.

As with many thrillers, the only letdown occurs during the climax when the lamb turns into a superhero. An interesting plot device leads us to believe little Rachel has the necessary pent up frustration to see this through, but we can't help but cringe a bit. The most overdone scenes involve irate hotel guests, an annoying airline passenger, Cillian's injury and the FX at the hotel. The strength of the film is in the character development and psychological games between the leads. Sadly the fine screen veteran Brian Cox is under-utilized, but overall this is an above-average suspense thriller worth seeing for all but the finale.