Eye of the Beholder

Eye of the Beholder

This problematic thriller boasts several inspired elements, especially intelligent, committed performances by leads Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd, both of whom have become hot commodities. Fans should definitely investigate their incisive work here, even if McGregor and Judd's talents are ultimately cast into a lost cause. Judd plays a black-widow serial murderer named Joanna, who is systematically seducing and killing men who, in one way or another, are outside the ordinary. (Among her victims is a blind mulimillionaire, played by Patrick Bergin, and a nasty loser portrayed, surprisingly, by Jason Priestley.) McGregor is on board as a British intelligence agent who happens to be following her. Referred to as "the Eye," McGregor's operative is a haunted man abandoned years before by his wife and daughter. His isolation is such that he holds imaginary conversations with the latter, and she advises him to take pity on Joanna and protect her even as she carries on with her monstrous mission. That's precisely what he does, at a distance, ushering in comparisons to Hitchcock's classics about voyeurism and obsession, particularly Vertigo and Rear Window. (Allusions to Francis Coppola's The Conversation are unavoidable as well.) But despite the great material (the 1980 source novel by Marc Behm was highly praised by The New York Times) and a fascinating cast (including Geneviève Bujold and k.d. lang), Eye of the Beholder bogs down in Stephan Elliott's often thoughtless, obvious direction. Elliott (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) grinds down several members of the cast by insisting on dreary, one-note performances, and he makes a long movie seem even longer by telegraphing story twists and other developments long before they happen. Justice would be served if one could extract Judd and McGregor's appearances here and graft them onto a better movie, but so it goes. --Tom Keogh

Production: Desintation Film Dist. Corp.
  1 win.
 
IMDB:
4.9
Metacritic:
29
Rotten Tomatoes:
9%
R
Year:
1999
109
1,140 Views

Share your thoughts on Eye of the Beholder's quotes with the community:

0 Comments

    Quote of the Day Today's Quote | Archive

    Would you like us to send you a FREE inspiring quote delivered to your inbox daily?

    Please enter your email address:

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this movie page to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Eye of the Beholder Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. <https://www.quotes.net/movies/eye_of_the_beholder_quotes_3726>.

    Know another quote from Eye of the Beholder?

    Don't let people miss on a great quote from the "Eye of the Beholder" movie - add it here!

    Quiz

    Are you a quotes master?

    »
    In which cartoon does this quote appear: "Rule number three, I can't bring people back from the dead. It's not a pretty picture. I don't like doing it!"?
    A The Jungle Book
    B Ice Age
    C Aladdin
    D Alice in Wonderland