Angel Eyes
Sometimes movie studios seem so desperate to get you to see a movie they mislead you into thinking a particular film is about X when it’s really about Y. This seems to be the case with the new release Angel Eyes. Sure, it stars Jennifer Lopez, but apparently Warner Brothers doesn’t think J-Lo is enough, so it is marketing this film as a supernatural flick, a mystery and a romance depending on which ad you see. Even the film’s taglines “You Won’t Believe Your Eyes” and “The Deeper You Look, The More You’ll Find” seem to suggest an element of mystery and danger. You can then understand how disappointed a viewer might be when they realize the film lacks any mystery or supernatural doings at all. But if you look as deeply as the film ads suggest, you’ll find this is not necessarily a bad thing.
Angel Eyes is the story of Sharon (Ms. Lopez), a emotionally troubled cop burying herself in her work. You see, many years ago, she caught her father beating her mother and had him arrested. Since the incident, she has become estranged from her parents and no one in her family has been able to forgive her. Into her life walks Catch (Jim Caviezel) a mystery man who saves her life during a gun battle. She is immediately drawn to him for various reasons, but he has one rule about their relationship: they cannot discuss his past. But then, the past “catches” up with them both.
To give away too much more would ruin how everything unfolds. The only element of mystery here is how long it takes Sharon to catch up with the audience and figure who her new boyfriend really is. And the supernatural angle is flirted with so briefly, it’s barely there. What you’re left with is the development of an emotional relationship between two people who have some heavy issues, which certainly doesn’t sound like something must people would plunk down $8 to see.
But I’m not most people. For me, this film works on every level. Lopez, whom I have always liked as an actress but have huge qualms about as a singer, has played a cop once before is the hugely under-appreciated Out of Sight and despite her uncop-like size and build, she’s totally convincing. On another note entirely, Lopez’s last few roles have been women consumed by their careers. Is there something she wants us to know about her? Caviezel, whom you might remember as Dennis Quaid’s son in last year’s Frequency, is equally good in a tricky role. He has to convince us that he cares about nothing but is falling in love with Sharon, and he does it with ease. He even manages to emerge from a semi-cheesy graveyard scene with his dignity intact. What’s more, the two leads have great chemistry together with one exception: What was up with the love scene? It looked more like a Calvin Klein ad to me. The film benefits from solid supporting performances by Terrance Howard (The Best Man), Jeremy Sisto (Elton from Clueless), Spanish actress Sonja Braga and Shirley Knight.
Luis Mandoki, who has also directed the Kevin Costner/RobinWright-Penn romance, Message in a Bottle, and the Meg Ryan/Andy Garcia drama, When a Man Loves A Woman, seems to be drawn to films with a emotional core to them. But who’s complaining since he seems to do them so well. There are some scenes from which we could have been spared, but otherwise the film doesn’t drag or disappoint. It also doesn’t give its characters a completely happy ending which is admirable and kind of risky for a Jennifer Lopez film. Mandoki even makes his mistakes fit into the film. During a scene in which Sharon is called to a house on a domestic disturbance call, Lopez actually hits the camera with her car door, but the beat cop scenes are shot with what looks like handheld cameras, so it just seems like the camera is moving rather than being hit. It’s nice to see some real moments like that in film. You don’t get them in big budget films that often, especially ones that star Jennifer Lopez.
So the bottom line is don’t expect something like The Sixth Sense here. This film has the courage to be more concerned with the emotional and psychological development of the characters at its center than into tricking you into believing jaw-dropping plot contrivances. That alone makes it worth seeing. Plus, you don’t have to sit through some tired old music video either.