An hour and a half in the cramped quarters of coach class probably appeals to very few. This is squarely where director Wes Craven places Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy in his latest feature, \Red Eye."" Luckily, McAdams and Murphy are more than game and make the plane ride feel riveting.
McAdams of ""Wedding Crashers"" stars as the resourceful and perfectly coiffed Lisa Reisert, while Murphy counters her as the jarringly attractive Jackson Rippner, a menacing antagonist who kidnaps Reisert and takes her for the ride of her life.
A striking feature of ""Red Eye"" is its simple, yet not overly simplistic plot line. The script raises numerous questions but makes certain to answer them by the film's end. For instance, after having mocha spilled on her shirt, Reisert changes in the mirror in the ladies' rest room. This scene introduces a previously unmentioned scar on her chest. The scar then raises the questions: Where did it come from? And what caused it? These questions are answered far before the film is over, allowing the audience to obtain some important character insight.
Screenwriter Carl Ellsworth leaves Rippner's personal life shrouded in mystery. This might seem like an oversight in his character development, but his history is neither relevant nor necessary in the telling of this story. The only thing that truly matters for Rippner is the question of whether or not he is a convincing villain. Murphy cut his teeth as the Scarecrow in this summer's ""Batman Begins,"" and uses that experience to make Rippner truly frightening. He takes what little there is to work with and creates a truly disturbing character.
In a refreshing turn, the film allows Reisert to be both attractive and smart-something commonly denied to female characters in this genre. Because of this, McAdams can spare her vocal chords and our ears from shrill, blood-curdling screams of ""Nightmare on Elm Street"" fear. In lieu of shrieking, the character is allowed to use the left side of her brain in order to scheme her way out of danger. Reisert uses anything and everything at her disposal in the airplane cabin to sabotage Rippner's evil plans.
Despite ""Red Eye's"" positive aspects, the film's quality is still questionable. While not overly predictable, it still feels far too run-of-the-mill to be thought-provoking. ""Red Eye"" might appeal to those easily distracted by a pretty face-a trait which both McAdams and Murphy more than satisfy-however, anyone with respect for the medium of film would spend their time better elsewhere. While entertaining, ""Red Eye"" is a wholly empty endeavor.
