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Red Eye (2005 American film)

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Red Eye is a 2005 American psychological thriller film directed by Wes Craven and written by Carl Ellsworth based on a story by Ellsworth and Dan Foos. It stars Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, and Brian Cox. The story follows a hotel manager ensnared in an assassination plot by a terrorist while aboard a red-eye flight to Miami.

Red Eye
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWes Craven
Screenplay byCarl Ellsworth
Story by
  • Carl Ellsworth
  • Dan Foos
Produced byChris Bender
Marianne Maddalena
Starring
CinematographyRobert Yeoman
Edited by
Music byMarco Beltrami
Production
companies
  • BenderSpink
  • Craven-Maddalena Films
Distributed byDreamWorks Pictures
Release date
  • August 19, 2005 (2005-08-19)
Running time
85 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$26 million[2]
Box office$96.2 million[2]

The film score was composed and conducted by Marco Beltrami. It was distributed by DreamWorks Pictures and released on August 19, 2005.

The film received positive reviews and was a box-office success. An extended version of the film, which added previously unused footage to increase the running time, was broadcast on the ABC network several times.

Plot

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After attending her grandmother's funeral, Lisa Reisert arrives at Dallas Love Field to take a red-eye flight back to Miami, Florida. She meets a handsome young man named Jackson Rippner, also traveling to Miami. While waiting to board Fresh Air flight 1019, a Boeing 767-300 from Dallas to Miami, they share a drink at the airport bar and engage in small talk.

To her surprise, Lisa finds Jackson seated beside her on the flight. After takeoff, his charming demeanor quickly turns sinister as he informs her that he works for a domestic terrorist organization planning to assassinate Charles Keefe, the current United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security. Lisa's managerial position at the Lux Atlantic Hotel in Miami, where Keefe and his family are staying, is crucial to their plot.

Jackson orders Lisa to make a call to move the Keefe family to a suite where a missile launched from a boat in the harbor will strike. Otherwise, her father Joe will be killed. Lisa makes several attempts to delay making the call and get help, going as far as writing a fake bomb threat in the bathroom. However, a combination of bad luck and Rippner's vigilance thwart all her efforts.

Eventually, Lisa calls her co-worker, Cynthia, and has her move the Keefe family to the targeted suite. Jackson refuses to call off the hitman waiting outside Joe's house until the assassination is confirmed.

As the plane lands at Miami International Airport, Lisa reveals having been the victim of a violent rape at knifepoint two years earlier. After expressing her determination to fight to the end, she stabs Jackson in the throat with a ballpoint pen, grabs his phone, and flees the plane.

Once outside, Lisa makes her way to the airport exit and steals an unattended SUV. She tells Cynthia to evacuate the hotel suite. Cynthia, the Keefes, and U.S. Secret Service agents leave the room seconds before a missile destroys it.

The cell phone's battery dies as Lisa calls her father, so she hurries to his home. She hits and kills the hitman with the car when he shoots at her. Joe is unharmed and has called 9-1-1.

Jackson arrives and incapacitates Joe, then pursues Lisa throughout the house. As they struggle, he throws her down the staircase. Lisa retrieves the dead hitman's gun and shoots Jackson. While he's wounded, he disarms her and is about to kill her when the revived Joe guns him down. Lisa returns to the hotel to provide assistance, where Keefe praises both women and thanks them for what they did to save his life with the rest of his family.

Cast

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Production

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In March 2004, it was announced DreamWorks Pictures had purchased Red Eye, a script written by Carl Ellsworth described by trades as Phone Booth on a plane.[3] In August of that year, it was announced Wes Craven had signed on to direct Red Eye.[4] Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy were cast as the film's leads in September, with Craven noting Murphy's enthusiasm for the role as he flew in for a meeting two days before his wedding.[5]

Reception

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Box office

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Red Eye opened theatrically on August 19, 2005, in 3,079 venues, earning $16,167,662 in its opening weekend, ranking second in the domestic box office behind The 40-Year-Old Virgin ($21,422,815).[6] At the end of its run, eight weeks later (on October 13), the film grossed $57,891,803 in the United States and Canada, and $37,685,971 overseas for a worldwide total of $95,577,774. Based on a $26 million budget, the film was a box office success.[2]

Critical response

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 196 critics, with an average rating of 64%. The site's consensus states: "With solid performances and tight direction from Wes Craven, Red Eye is a brisk, economic thriller."[7] On Metacritic, the film received a weighted score of 71 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[9]

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5/4 stars calling it the "best thriller of summer 2005", and a "gripping suspense [that] will pin you to your seat".[10]

Roger Ebert commended the film, calling it a "good thriller" that moves "competently [and] relentlessly". He praised Craven for making the film "function so smoothly" and "doing exactly what it was intended to do". Ebert also expressed admiration for the performances of McAdams and Murphy, stating that they are "very effective together". He said that McAdams is "so convincing because she keeps [her performance] at ground level" and "she remains plausible even when the action ratchets up around her". He complimented Murphy for his "ability to modulate his character instead of gnashing the scenery". He gave the film 3/4 stars.[11]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film a "nifty, tense thriller" and said that the casting of the two leads is "a nice surprise". She said that Murphy is "a picture-perfect villain" and McAdams has a "depth of intensity" that is uncommon.[12]

USA Today film critic Claudia Puig said the film is "fun to watch because of the strong performances". She praised McAdams for blending "vulnerability and courage" into her performance and called Murphy "menacing". While she mentioned that the film is "tense, smart, and nerve-wracking" and "entertaining and scary" on the first hour, she criticizes the film for going "downhill" and becoming a "by-the-book action flick".[13]

Variety's Robert Koehler stated that "Red Eye relies on hoodwinking an audience with its tension, so that the sheer illogic of the conspiracy plot can slip by without detection" but complimented McAdams for finding "new and interesting ways of silently projecting fear".[14]

Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe felt the film was like a "poor cousin of an episode of 24. Call it 12."[15]

In October 2006, the film ranked 25th in the 30 Even Scarier Movie Moments, a follow-up to Bravo's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments which was aired in October 2004.

In 2021, Cillian Murphy said, "I remember when I saw it, [I] was like 'Oh, that’s kind of a schlocky B movie. Rachel McAdams is excellent in it.' But I didn’t think I gave a very nuanced performance in it. But, listen, if people love the movie then that’s great. I’m pleased with that."[16] In 2024, he recalled that Red Eye is not among his favorites: “I love Rachel McAdams and we had fun making it but I don’t think it’s a good movie. It’s a good B movie.”[17][18]

Awards and nominations

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Awards
Award Category Name Outcome
Golden Trailer Awards Best Thriller Nominated
Irish Film and Television Awards Best Actor in a Feature Film Cillian Murphy Nominated
MTV Movie Awards Best Performance Rachel McAdams Nominated
Saturn Awards Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film Nominated
Best Actress Rachel McAdams Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Cillian Murphy Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice Thriller Won
Choice Scream Rachel McAdams Nominated
Choice Villain Cillian Murphy Nominated

See also

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  • Flightplan, another 2005 psychological thriller taking place during a flight

References

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  1. ^ "RED EYE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. August 10, 2005. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Red Eye (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. October 14, 2005. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  3. ^ "DreamWorks seeing 'Red'". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "Craven's booking 'Red Eye'". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  5. ^ "Thesps see 'Red' on Craven pic". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Weekend Box Office Results for August 19-21, 2005". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. August 22, 2005. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Red Eye Movie Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  8. ^ Red Eye Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  9. ^ "Find CinemaScore" (Type "Red Eye" in the search box). CinemaScore. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. ^ Travers, Peter (August 19, 2005). "Red Eye". Rolling Stone. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  11. ^ "Red Eye movie review & film summary (2005) | Roger Ebert".
  12. ^ Dargis, Manohla (August 19, 2005). "Sticking Out a Tense Flight With a Terrorist as Seatmate". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  13. ^ Puig, Claudia. "'Red Eye' just creeps right along". USA Today. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  14. ^ Koehler, Robert (August 14, 2005). "Review: 'Red Eye'". Variety. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  15. ^ Morris, Wesley. "Improbable 'Red Eye' never gets off the ground". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
  16. ^ "Cillian Murphy on 'A Quiet Place Part II' and Your Love for 'Red Eye'". May 26, 2021.
  17. ^ "'Oppenheimer' Star Cillian Murphy Says Hollywood Film Press Tours Are A "Broken Model": "Everybody is So Bored"". February 14, 2024.
  18. ^ "Cillian Murphy is the Man of the Moment". February 13, 2024.
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