Eye of the Beholder (2000)

This movie is complete and total crap. There is no hidden meaning, it isn't high brow art that it is misunderstood, it just plain sucks. The film doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, and the acting is terrible. The actors are good, they just have nothing to work with here. The scenes are just cobbled together and most, if not all, the characters have no dimension, no depth, and no motivation. The actors are forced to just phone it in, and the blame is not theirs. Comcast streams it for free, so after watching Kiss the Girls, my wife (who had not seen KtG) suggested we watch another Judd film. We picked this one, and that was a major mistake. Save yourself and avoid our error, don't waste your time!

"Eye of the Beholder" (1999) details British Consulate investigator – i.e. spy – codenamed Eye (Ewan McGregor) and his increasing obsession with a Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd), a joyless psychotic who hates certain men because, apparently, her daddy abandoned her as a little girl at Christmas. Eye's obsession helps him forget the ghosts of his past – his wife and daughter who abandoned him (or vice versa). So he quits his job to follow Joanna around the country as she murders wealthy men; that is, until she finds a man who CAN'T see who she really is, literally. The chase leads to Alaska where… Jason Priestley has a small role as a jerk in the desert whereas Geneviève Bujold plays the counselor at the orphanage where Joanna grew-up. It's nice to see the latter. For insights into the story pay close attention to the relationship of Joanna and the doctor, which I don't interpret as Sapphic, but as quasi-mother/daughter. Interpreting it as Sapphic is possible, but it's an extreme position with not enough support to back it up. People love to loathe this movie and it's obvious why: The two protagonists are psychotics and it's hard for the average person to relate to them. Another negative is some unbelievable elements, like: Wouldn't someone notice Eye camping out in the bell tower of a city church? How would he have the field know-how to get away with doing the things he does when the opening act reveals him as essentially a computer nerd who rarely goes outside? Would two Federal detectives really bring the counselor of the orphanage all the way to friggin' Alaska to determine if a waitress is Joanna? If you can handle these script flaws, however, "Eye of the Beholder" is a stylishly-made thriller with haunting aspects and a superb soundtrack/score. Even though it's hard to relate to or even like the protagonists the chase around the country maintains your interest in an entrancing manner. The movie's worth catching just for these reasons, not to mention Ashley Judd was one of the most beautiful women to walk the planet at the time (and still is) and she appears in some pretty skimpy outfits, uber-sullen though she may be in the role. Ashley's thoroughly convincing and proves her talent beyond question. I think there's something deeper going on with the story as well: Eye goes through the same voyeuristic process in his life inside the movie that we just so happen to be watching, as voyeurs. Note how much of what Eye sees is through a camera lens and into people's private lives.The film was based on the novel by Marc Behm wherein Eye was much older and Joanna, roughly the age his daughter would've been. This was changed for the movie where it appears Eye is romantically fascinated with Joanna, despite her murdering spree, and he feels the need to watch over her and save her, which he failed to do as a father with his daughter. In any case, Stephen Elliott wrote the screenplay and directed the film, but was beset at every turn by the studio "suits" who financed the picture. At one point during the stress of filming, Elliott had to check himself into a psychiatric hospital for succor! This is relayed in Lizzy Gardiner's excellent documentary "Killing Priscilla" (2000). Thankfully, he was able to finish the picture. The fact that everyone hates it and it bombed at the box office probably sent him back to the institution.BOTTOM LINE: Yes, the plot's outlandish, the characters are whack-jobs and there are some eye-rolling plot holes, but the countrywide chase and stylish filmmaking are hypnotic, haunting and entertaining.The film runs 109 minutes and was shot in California, Quebec, New York City, Pittsburgh and D.C.GRADE: borderline B/B+

what a different premise for a movie,, a tortured young woman going around the world killing random men for no particular reason. Fine acting performances turned in by Ashley Judd, Ewan Mcgregor, and Genieve Bujold. our main character the "eye" has to follow our assassin all the way around the world as she knocks off men one by one. the story goes much deeper, something happened to her when she was very little and now has scarred her for the rest of her life. our "hero" character eye seems to be transfixed with her and seems to me that he starts to empathize with her,, because of his own daughter. but maybe that's just me,, overall I thought that this was a thought provoking thriller, and it's always a treat to watch Ashley Judd.

CAUTION: POSSIBLE SPOILERSLongtime Ewan fan here, and this is one of the few movies of his that I actually did not like when I first saw it. It is EXTREMELY fast paced, and sometimes a bit far-fetched. How does the Eye remove his surveillance equipment so quickly once his subject is suddenly moving on to another life, another name, another identity???!!!In spite of what seem to be flaws, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER is an entrancing, haunting film about two people who don't know each other, but who are connected in ways that can't be imagined or understood until at least halfway thru the film.The Eye, a British surveillance specialist is sent by his boss to investigate the boss's son, who has been withdrawing a lot of cash from the bank. Boss wants to know what sonny is up to. The Eye is a professional, excellent with equipment, superb at watching without being noticed. It's clear he's been a spy for a very long time. That's why the former "farfetched" idea of him being able to pull microphones, knock down cameras, and slither from site to site without being found out turns out to be acceptable. His real name is Stephen Wilson, and his wife and daughter are gone, apparently because his work was more important to him than his family. After they left, The Eye realized what he lost, and when we meet him, he's been a lonely, isolated, damaged man for quite a while.The Eye locks on to the boss's son and discovers that the Embassy Brat has been giving money to a beautiful young woman. She meets the son of the boss at a museum in Washington D.C. and as she is captured by the Eye's camera, The Eye feels like he's seen a ghost. The story, and the obsession begin here. The Eye begins abandoning duty in favor of a sense of loyalty. Indeed it seems definite that The Eye has lost his sense of reason. His obsession with the murderous yet lovely woman grows as he follows her all around the country. Ashley Judd's many wigs and personalities are beautiful as they are astonishing. Do give this clever, suspenseful thriller a try. I think if you focus and follow the film, you will get it. It's a story of complete obsession and how obsession can really drive a person to do things they normally would not do, and how it can change them forever, for good or for bad.