Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes
by Luis Mandoki

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DVD Reviews of Angel Eyes

DVD Review: Flawed, but still a great film.
Summary: 4 Stars

The story begins at the scene of an auto accident, where police officer Sharon Pogue is busy attempting to keep an unseen victim alive and focused on her. Moving ahead by a year, we are given a more human side of her life: a conversation with her brother begins a storyline of family discord between Sharon and her father, while her intervention with her fellow officers and criminals casts her in a strong light. This is the point at which Catch comes onto the scene, keeping a watch over her and saving her life after a drive-by shooting which ends in an on-foot pursuit.

From this point on, the two get to know one another on a more personal level, but Sharon finds that the new man in her life is not all that he seems. His past is touchy subject for conversation, while his apartment remains devoid of furniture, and he walks wherever he goes. Sharon wants to know more, and in her pursuit of the details, she finds herself falling more in love with Catch, who is beginning to remember things from a past that may have more to do with Sharon than either of them think.

This is a movie that has its ups and downs, and while the ups have the majority, the downs are not easily ignored. For instance, the promotional material portrays mystery-man Catch as a possible apparition who has walked into her life. Even the first section of the movie itself portrays him as a well-intentioned man, in a scene in which he opens a pedestrian's car door to merely turn off his lights, nothing more. His interactions with others give him a sort of angelic presence, so it comes as a bit of a letdown when the second half takes a totally different approach. Personally, I liked the way the trailers made the movie look. The idea that Catch is an angel who falls in love with a human is intriguing, and while it's certainly not new, to me, it has much more appeal than what the story leaves us with.

The story also gives away its secrets too quickly, but for good reasons. Catch begins having flashbacks early into the movie, which will give away the ties he has to Sharon as well as the secrets of his past. But the filmmakers have a certain purpose for that: the overall story is less about the mysteries of Catch's life and more about the personal problems in both he and Sharon's lives, and so some of the secrets are revealed in order to allow the main viewpoint to center on these obstacles.

What's good about the movie is the delicate relationship between Catch and Sharon. Sharon has problems with her family, which screenwriter Gerald Dipego keeps well hidden until later points in the film. While her own problems create a life of tension, her need to help Catch discover the secrets of his past and hold onto him also weigh heavily on her mind. Their problems and hardships allow them to act as consolation for each other, not unlike that of a guardian angel watching over an earthly soul.

The movie also allows us to get to know the characters, something I greatly admire in a film. From the first introductions, we know who the characters are, their intentions in relation to one another, and how different situations and occurances affect them. Director Luis Mandoki uses a careful pace in order to establish these traits, while also heightening the suspense at times to keep everything in place.

The best part about this movie are the performances of the two leads, who are required to carry a majority of the film on their shoulders. Jennifer Lopez is cast as Sharon, and through her acting, she portrays Sharon as strong and determined, as the tough cop with a lighter side. Lopez does some of her best work here, topping her work in "The Cell;" it is evident through her work here that she is easily able to get into her character. Jim Caviezel is Catch, and his looks project a feeling of innocence and goodness (his blue eyes, piercing and effective, always take on the look that he is on the verge of shedding tears). His mental breakdown proves his worth as an actor, and the chemistry between he and Lopez electrifies the screen.

"Angel Eyes" is not without its flaws, and the way it all ends seems a bit underachieved. But the way in which everything comes together in the end leaves no loose strings, and that, accompanied with the powerhouse performances by Caviezel and Lopez make this movie well worth watching.

Description of Angel Eyes

It seems, at first, that Gerald Di Pego's script will turn in a supernatural direction--or at least a metaphysical one--but it doesn't, and director Luis Mandoki navigates an emotional minefield while acknowledging the walls that people build between themselves and the traumatic events they wish to forget. Catch has kept a deliberate distance between himself and a tragedy that Sharon had witnessed--not a repressed nightmare, but a devastating loss from which he will, eventually, recover. That these two characters should rediscover each other at a time of mutual need is not a contrived coincidence. In Angel Eyes, it's the karmic redemption of two wise and deserving souls. --Jeff Shannon