Red Eye (2005): ****

Lisa Reisert (Rachel McAdams) is flying back to her hotel manager job in Miami, after attending her grandmother’s funeral in Texas. Whilst waiting for her delayed flight, she meets the charming Jackson Rippner (Cillian Murphy). Lisa and Jackson hit it off right away, killing time by discussing unfortunate names and drinking cocktails. Later, they discover they are sitting together on the same flight and it seems it may be the start of a beautiful relationship. What a pity it turns out Jackson is a terrorist operative, who needs Lisa in order for his group to carry out a high profile political assassination. If she refuses, it will be Lisa who suffers instead. 

Red Eye is an extremely well-crafted thriller, which focuses on Lisa and Jackson’s equally matched mental battles inside the enclosed space of the airplane. It is a truly nightmarish situation for Lisa, unable to ask for help from her fellow passengers without endangering them and herself. Despite the odds, Rachel possesses a steely determination to find a way out of her situation, much to Jackson’s admiration, ‘When we get out of this, I may have to steal you.’ In some ways, Red Eye is a perverse rom-com, the only kind that Wes Craven would know how to make. Undoubtedly, Lisa and Jackson share a warm attraction to each other to begin with, that decidedly becomes more one-sided as Jackson reveals his true nature. Jackson’s misogynistic comments, combined with his oddly affectionate gestures, are already painful to Lisa after being fooled by his charisma, which is intensified by the revelation of a certain secret retrospectively. Red Eye is let down slightly by its third act, as it descends into slasher and action movie territory. It is nowhere near awful, just less proficient than the preceding first and second acts. A final stand-off in Lisa’s old home has some nice fight sequences, even if it feels like Craven is re-treading old ground.

Red Eye boasts two impressive performances by Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. Rachel McAdams gives an accomplished turn as Lisa Reisert, a hard-working and kind-hearted manager. McAdams helps to set up Lisa as someone who comes up with creative solutions under pressure, making her ability to cope later all the more believable. That is not to say Lisa is a Strong Female Character, she has her tearful moments and collapses at one point when it gets too much. McAdams has an incredible gift of expressing her internal thoughts and emotions through one look or a slight tilt of the head. However, her inner strength and resourcefulness makes Lisa a truly strong character. Cillian Murphy is entrancing as Jackson Rippner, the professional middle man for a terrorist organisation. Quick to turn on his charming smile in order to escape suspicion with only his piercing blue eyes indicating his true thoughts, Jackson is the model villain for Red Eye but could have easily fallen into Bond villain territory in the hands of a less capable actor. Murphy avoids this pitfall and brings his own subtle moments to his performance, in a disappointed look or in turning Lisa’s head gently when whispering threats to her. There is a hint of tragedy about his character, a suggestion that Jackson is unhappy with his job and his situation, fuelling his anger when there are snags in his plan. 

Red Eye commends two masterful performances by Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy, as they engage in a battle of wits at 30,000 feet.