Eye of the Beholder

This picture borrowed with much gratitude from Ewan McGregor Pics World. There are also some pretty cool exclusive ones there that come from alternate endings and missing scenes from this and some of Ewan McGregor's other movies. Check it out!

When I think of this movie, I can't help but think of it in terms of the novel on which it was based, Eye of the Beholder by Marc Behm. Now, I've come, over time, to believe that the only people in the world who have actually read the thing are myself and the people responsible for the making of this movie, so you're going to have to take my word for it when I say it's surprising that the two are even supposed to be the same thing. Hell, it's hard to wrap my head around the fact that anyone would have wanted to make such a book into a movie. Not that it's a bad book. Not at all. It's just that...well, there's not a lot of action here. Almost the entire thing takes place inside the head of a nameless detective who really blurs the line between normality and insanity. It's all his thoughts, his justification for his actions, his descent into obession, maybe even madness. Really good stuff here.

The movie couldn't possibly have reflected this element of the story so a lot of it was changed to make up for that loss. The end result is the story of a not-so-nameless detective (you really have to be paying attention to catch it the one or two times it's mentioned) with all this high-tech spy equipment (in the book it was a Minolta camera and very little else) that enables him to stalk a beautiful serial killer in a misguided attempt to protect her. The only clues into his thinking on why he would be doing such a thing are in the lines "I can't fuck this one up as well" and "So I gues I'm a daddy who lost his little girl and you're a little girl who lost her daddy" which presents a whole new set of problems when it comes to keeping consistent with the book.

First, in the book the Eye stalks Joanna Eris for one reason and one reason only: she reminds him of his long-lost, grown-up daughter, Maggie. Now, Ewan McGregor is hardly old enough to have a daughter Ashley Judd's age (actually, I think she might even be older than him in real life...), so the daughter's age is reduced to believably match with his. Her name is also changed for some unknown reason, but I won't complain too heavily about that since I love the way Ewan McGregor says "Lucy." So, instead of his daughter, Joanna apparently reminds him of his estranged wife. But why he'd follow her along as he does for that reason isn't clear. After all, if the note on the back of the picture he carries of his daughter is any indication ("Guess which one's your daughter, you asshole. Go fuck yourself!"), she's not the nicest person in the world. Also, the bitterness he feels toward her for taking away his child are pretty evident. So why follow someone who reminds him of her? Maybe he thinks she'll (Joanna Eris, that is) lead him to his daughter somehow. In a way, she does because of the situation she was put in in the past with a father who abandoned her on Christmas night.

Which brings us to problem number two. In the book, there is (if I recall correctly) absolutely no sob story about Joanna's past to justify her actions or at least not anything to do with her father. This was added to the story in the movie, perhaps as a human way to relate to her that doesn't really exist in the book. Besides, isn't the loss of her own baby daughter enough of a way to relate? Does it make sense that he would be protective of her as a father if she reminded him of his wife in the first place? I'm having trouble with this. As my English teacher might say, the thesis is a little too fuzzy.

So it's clear that the movie doesn't exactly follow with the book, but what about the merits of the movie by itself? Well, the story has its obvious faults but the movie has a lot of potential anyway. The acting, for example, is really something. Ashley Judd is chilling as the cold, disturbed Joanna Eris. Ewan McGregor plays the Eye in exactly the right way to bring out everything that makes him both sympathetic and strange. Heck, even Jason Priestley and k.d. lang don't do a half bad job here. Though don't believe anyone who tells you that Jason Priestley is one of the stars of the movie. He's only in it long enough to kick Ashley Judd's ass and then have his ass kicked in turn by Ewan McGregor.

However, my favorite parts were the cool things they did with the snow globes. Every time the characters travelled from one city to another (and they did quite often), the new location was indicated using snow globes and beautiful, sweeping shots of the real-life versions of what the snow globes showed. That was done really well.

And I especially liked the soundtrack. Heavy and haunting, the mood of this movie was captured beautifully through the music. Chrissy Hynde's version of "I Wish You Love" at the end is really something else.

All in all, there was a lot to this movie that could have been really great had they only taken the time to make the story make sense. My recommendation would be to read the book instead. It explains a lot more.

Eye of the Beholder
starring: Ewan McGregor (the Eye), Ashley Judd (Joanna Eris), k.d. lang (Hillary), etc.

Eye Candy Factor: 8 (out of 10); I'm sorry, I don't care how not-so-great this movie was, Ewan McGregor with glasses...I nearly died.

The Yeah Right! Factor: 7 (out of 10); what few actors there were all did a really nice job playing characters that were a little, well...out there.

Chick Flick or Dick Flick?: I'd have to go with the chicks on this. I don't know...there was just something about this movie that struck me as being of interest to housewives who like to stay home and read those cheap spy novels with taglines like "She was his worst enemy and his greatest love..." though the darker, less exciting tone might be a turn-off to those same women (and the book is certainly not one of those books...).

Ewan McGregor Connections: Well, he's in it but I'm going to show you what a sick person I am by connecting him back to himself. Here goes: Jason Priestley was one of the stars on a show called Beverly Hills 90210 on which Peter Krause (currently of Six Feet Under fame) once guest starred. Peter Krause used to be one of the stars of a show called Sports Night alongside Josh Charles who appeared in the movie Dead Poets Society with Robin Willaims who starred in a movie called Being Human in which Ewan McGregor had a cameo. Ha! There's also a simpler one through Ashley Judd: she was in Double Jeopardy with Tommy Lee Jones who was in Men in Black with that guy who played Antonio on Wings who made a small appearance in the movie A Life Less Ordinary with Ewan McGregor. Double HA!

Sense and Sensibility: 4 (out of 10); huh?

The Coolness Factor: 4 (out of 10); the snow globes and Ewan McGregor kicking Jason Priestley's ass were the only sources of coolness I could find here. With no startling plot twists or amazing stunt work, a four was as high as I could go.

To Sum it All Up: 6 (out of 10)

Care to challenge my opinion? Come on down!
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