strong movie - "Eye of God"
Browsing the DVD rack at my local library, I decided on this movie : "Eye of God", from 1997. It's a crime thriller with an impressive creative pedigree (written & directed by Tim Blake Nelson; stars Martha Plimpton, Nick Stahl, Richard Jenkins, Hal Holbrook). Given that silly title, I expected a mildly entertaining horror-type movie, but it had surprising depth and strong storytelling. It's hard to say I was 'pleasantly' surprised, because this is a very dark and unsettling story, but it delivered way beyond by expectations. I can appreciate a wide range of styles and quality of films, but it's always nice to find a hidden gem like this. I was compelled to write up this review on IMDB :
"I picked up this movie at the local library completely blind, on a whim. Based on the box & the title, I expected a cheezy horror movie, but with a potentially interesting cast. What I got was a very thoughtfully crafted human drama mixed with a compelling crime thriller. The characters could've smacked of cliche - but intelligent dialog & expert performances across the board helped convey their credibility. The way Tim Blake Nelson played forward and backward with the narrative chronology worked well (for the most part) - the style heightened the unfolding of the mystery, and delivered a strong punch for the scene he chose to end the movie on. Kevin Anderson was exceptionally strong in a role that could've wallowed in simplicity (I'm inspired to check out more of his movies). Richard Jenkins delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance, a forerunner of the fantastic work he's done in recent years. May be Martha Plipmton's best work in her career. It had a few problems - too much voice-over, the setup is a little too 'clean', the conversations are too 'smart' in some stretches, and a bit slow (particularly in the denouement). But worth checking out, and deserving of a wider audience.
Compares to : Once Were Warriors (abusive relationships); Memento (asynchronous narrative); Capote (southern-fried smart crime drama)
"
"I picked up this movie at the local library completely blind, on a whim. Based on the box & the title, I expected a cheezy horror movie, but with a potentially interesting cast. What I got was a very thoughtfully crafted human drama mixed with a compelling crime thriller. The characters could've smacked of cliche - but intelligent dialog & expert performances across the board helped convey their credibility. The way Tim Blake Nelson played forward and backward with the narrative chronology worked well (for the most part) - the style heightened the unfolding of the mystery, and delivered a strong punch for the scene he chose to end the movie on. Kevin Anderson was exceptionally strong in a role that could've wallowed in simplicity (I'm inspired to check out more of his movies). Richard Jenkins delivers a wonderfully nuanced performance, a forerunner of the fantastic work he's done in recent years. May be Martha Plipmton's best work in her career. It had a few problems - too much voice-over, the setup is a little too 'clean', the conversations are too 'smart' in some stretches, and a bit slow (particularly in the denouement). But worth checking out, and deserving of a wider audience.
Compares to : Once Were Warriors (abusive relationships); Memento (asynchronous narrative); Capote (southern-fried smart crime drama)
"
posted by pegasusgiraffe at 3:00 AM
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