Review of Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes (2001)
4/10
Low-key drama rewards patience
15 January 2005
ANGEL EYES

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound formats: Dolby Digital / DTS / SDDS

Though not terribly convincing as an experienced Chicago cop, hardened to the world's excesses, singer-actress Jennifer Lopez gives an otherwise finely-judged performance in this atypical romantic drama, directed with great sensitivity by Luis Mandoki (WHITE PALACE). Here, Lopez' empty life is changed forever when she's rescued from a near-fatal confrontation with an armed criminal by handsome stranger Jim Caviezel ("The Passion of the Christ"), who seems to come out of nowhere. Grateful for his intervention, Lopez is unable to resist their subsequent friendship, which quickly blossoms into something deeper, until she discovers they have met before under very different circumstances...

Both central characters are blighted by past misfortunes (Lopez is at odds with her family over an incident which occurred ten years previously) and both are wary of romantic involvement, which leads to the inevitable complications: Lopez' hard-bitten cop is unwilling to lower her defences, while Caviezel is the angelic loner whose refusal to confront the past renders his life meaningless. There are no melodramatics and no great visual statements, and the ending swaps bombast for sentiment at every turn; Caviezel's climactic graveside soliloquy is an acting tour de force. Sonia Braga and Shirley Knight play small but crucial supporting roles.
5 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed