As we get used to getting the
entertainment value out of our movies, especially when we see a lot of
them, we often forget to expect something more. We may hope that the
price of our admission ticket will deliver us into an experience that
doesn’t look and feel like the latest face-lift of an idea that faded
two decades ago. We’ve seen just about everything on the big screen,
and the last thing we expect from a movie is to be taken by surprise.
The trailer for Angel Eyes generated just enough mystery to stir
curiosity, but for the most part, it looked like a feeble love story
designed to test the dramatic talents of the lovely Jennifer Lopez and
showcase her luscious physical assets. Surprise! Some movies draw their
power from an emotional subtlety that is difficult, if not impossible,
to encapsulate in the punchy marketing bits. Angel Eyes is the
most refreshing, the most masterfully and delightfully woven love drama
we’ve seen in a long while.
Sharon Pogue (Jennifer Lopez) works as a
cop in the Chicago Police Department. Her tactics with the bad guys,
even those twice her size, are questionable at best. Sharon is tough,
but she is lonely and estranged from her family. The ghost of her past
keeps her from sleeping at night. She is despised sufficiently by the
criminals that they attempt to assassinate her when a stranger jumps out
of the shadows and saves her life. Her mystery hero goes only by Catch
(Jim Caviezel), although ‘Weird’ would be far more suitable. Almost
like a prophet, detached from the conventions of what most consider ‘normal’,
Catch intrigues Sharon, but his mysterious and alluring presence is only
a mask for a man who is also hiding from the past.
Love dares the lovers to find and embrace
their true selves. In great love stories, the lovers resist, even fight,
as their vulnerabilities are exposed. In great love stories, the mystery
of the beloved poses a constant challenge and a constant joy, and it
never dies, it only transforms.
Mystery is the most captivating element
of Angel Eyes. From the opening scene, we are made to wonder. We
wonder about who the characters really are. While we wonder, we are
given numerous, ingeniously placed clues, but even as we learn bits and
pieces about Sharon and Catch, we are still held within the mystery of
their hearts and souls. Only their regard for each other and the patient
kindness of their love will lead them and us to the truth and frailty
they haven’t been able to face apart.
Every aspect of Angel Eyes maximizes
the mystery. Dialogue is often enigmatic, or it is emotionally charged
by the events that occurred in the back-story of the troubled, complex
lives of the lovers. Most of the characters, especially those in
supporting roles, express anguished faces, but the source of the anguish
is largely left unspoken. Cinematography is used to create a sense of
displacement in the characters. They are often shown lost in the
fleeting moment of the world going by. Flashback glimpses suggest some
trauma, but again, we are not given the details. As the story unfolds,
we realize that not knowing the details, the what’s and the why’s
and the how’s, is what draws the characters to look deeper into their
hearts. Sharon learns that there is more to Catch than her interrogatory
questions could ever reveal. The closer they are to each other, the
closer we are to them, and the greater the poignancy of their final
letting go. Still, the mystery goes on, only it becomes the mystery of
two who trust their love to help them cherish the fleeting moments of
the world.
Angel Eyes exemplifies the power
of film in all of its aspects; from crafting complex characters in an
intriguing love story and directing the actors to reveal depth of
emotion through their facial expressions, to offering plot clues by
using points of view and camera angles. For a story that so
heavily relies on resolving the mysterious off-screen events and
emotional trauma in order to build current relationships, Angel Eyes is
an amazing achievement.
