“Red Eye” (DreamWorks)
Who would believe that Wes Craven of “Nightmare on Elm Street” fame could create a movie that brings back memories of Alfred Hitchcock at his best But that is exactly what he has done with “Red Eye,” a taunt and tense little thriller that could be subtitled “Strangers On A Plane.”
Rachel McAdams plays Lisa Reisert, a hotel manager who is in Dallas for the funeral of her grandmother. She is trying to get back to Miami where she works and opts for the “red eye” flight to take her there. Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy) keeps bumping into her, first in the ticket line and then at a lounge. Finally they coincidentally end up in adjacent seats on the plane.
After the plane takes off, Lisa finds that all of her meetings with Jackson were not inadvertent. He has a plot to kill someone and he needs her help. If she doesn’t help him, her father (Brian Cox) will be killed.
The claustrophobic closeness of the passenger seats, the cold cruelty of Jackson, and the desperation of Lisa all ratchet up the fear factor to the highest levels. When Lisa first learns of his plot, she is almost frozen with fear. But then the movie manages to give Lisa some moments of ingenuity that never strain the credibility of the film.
McAdams is at her best as Lisa. A few years ago she played the worst kind of “mean girl” in the film “Mean Girls.” In this film she is a “mean girl” of the best kind. You will find yourself cheering for her from start to finish.
Cillian Murphy first burst on the entertainment scene in the film “28 Days.” Then he made a solid impression as “the scarecrow” in “Batman Begins.” In this movie he becomes a star. He is handsome in a non-traditional way, and can go from warmly friendly to icily sadistic in the blink of an eye. He is good and makes the movie better by his presence.
Jayma Mays also has a good role as Cynthia, the person at the hotel Lisa works with, and who is her connection to the real world from the airplane. Mays takes a minor role and makes it distinct.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity and violence.
“Red Eye” is the kind of movie you will want to see over and over again. For this reason it should have a lucrative life as a DVD. There are action sequences you will want to revisit, and lines of dialogue you will want to listen to one more time for clarity.
McAdams and Murphy make the movie sing with excitement and fairly burst with tension. It is a fast-paced, enjoyable movie that will put a chill in us even as we face the end of summer heat.
I scored “Red Eye” a frequent flyer 7 out of 10.
