Movie Reviews

Eye of the Beholder

6 Oct 2000

A woman goes through life romancing wealthy men, then murdering them, changing her identity with each victim. Someone notices this and pursues her obsessively at every disguise.

Deja vu. The first proper film review I wrote, for a film study class in 1988, was for the thriller "Black Widow", in which Theresa Russell wore all the wigs and Debra Winger was an obsessive journalist. A fair but unexceptional film, with a similar premise to "Eye of the Beholder", the first Hollywood feature from Aussie writer-director Stephan Elliott.

This had potential. Elliott has the sense of adventure to take the film where "Black Widow"'s director, Bob Rafelson, did not. Sadly, he is also capable of making a concept more perverted than necessary. Even "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", when all said and done, was a mean-spirited indulgence.

This time, Ashley Judd is the cold-blooded, wig-wearing killer, and Ewan McGregor is a techno-geek detective who follows her around America, initially for professional reasons. McGregor, having taken up wooden acting for The Phantom Menace, surpasses even himself in woodenness. He is not exactly discrete in his pursuit of Judd, but somehow she never notices him. Maybe she thinks he's a tree.

Gradually, however, he becomes a truly pathetic stalker. After a few ridiculous twists, it becomes almost romantic. A romance between a sociopath and a mass murderer? Sure. I can see Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan doing this one.

For all of Elliott's oh-so-clever visual tricks, this intriguing concept falls flat. He should be applauded for filming Marc Behm's novel, taking the thriller genre in startling directions. Unfortunately, with neither of the leads showing any sign of life, it is impossible to sympathise with two characters who, by their very nature, would have a hard time winning our respect as it is. (The same is not true of k.d. lang, who, as McGregor's lively colleague, gives the film's best performance.)

Like all of Elliott's work so far, this one needs discipline. A shame. Elliott has no shortage of talent, but has yet to make a particularly good film.