The movie's appeal is largely due to its two leads. Both Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy are perfectly cast. Murphy already proved in "Batman Begins" that he has the whole maniacal bad guy thing down; he and his steely baby blues are extremely effective in this role. McAdams, on the other hand, is a newcomer to this genre. She sure has come a long way since "The Hot Chick." In the past two years alone, she's appeared in three commercially successful films: "Mean Girls," "The Notebook" and "Wedding Crashers." Having proved herself capable of both comedy and romance, she can now add thriller to the list.
"Red Eye" starts out like a typical romantic comedy. If it weren't for Marco Beltrami's eerie and unsettling music, you probably wouldn't even know you were about to see a thriller. Turning the ordinary into the extraordinary is Craven's calling card, and "Red Eye" is no exception. Craven introduces protagonist Lisa Reisert (McAdams) early on in the film, and Craven wastes no time setting the scene. We learn through a series of conversations with both Lisa's father and her frazzled assistant Cynthia (who provides the film's comic relief) that Lisa is a classic Type-A personality. She's quick, efficient and quite possibly the best customer service employee and hotel manager ever. Subtle hints are thrown in that suggest Lisa is a guarded woman, but it isn't until later in the film that we find out why Lisa is so hesitant to accept the advances of one Jackson Rippner (Murphy), who does not go by "Jack" for obvious reasons.
Lisa meets Jackson while waiting in line for a delayed red-eye flight from Texas to Miami. He's charming, funny and, I have to admit, fairly attractive when not playing sociopath-inspired roles. Lisa finds him appealing as well, and the two flirt at an airport bar and then magically find themselves assigned to adjoining seats. They flirt awkwardly some more, but this eventually ceases after Lisa asks Jackson what he does for a living. "Oh, government overthrows, high-profile assassinations," he responds jokingly. Or is he?
After she inquires once more about his business, he responds coldly, "As fate would have it, my business is all about you." Lisa's cheeks begin to lose their glow, and her belladonna eyes widen as he explains that he needs her to use her managerial clout to aid him in a terrorist attack on a high-profile U.S. government official. If Lisa refuses to assist Jackson, the hitman parked outside her father's home will leave his post, enter the house, and well, do what hitmen do. After the initial shock wears off, Lisa proves to be both ingenious and brave; she isn't about to go down without a fight-something that Jackson did not foresee.
Craven makes good use of the airplane's close quarters. The confined space allows for intense interaction and anxiety, as does the remarkable chemistry between McAdams and Murphy. The rhythm of their banter is spot-on, and although their verbal sparring isn't intellectually simulating per se, it's still far from pedestrian. It's all enormously gripping. In addition, one of the film's saving graces is that it plays out believably. True, there are plot holes, but a good movie doesn't let you realize that they exist until after the credits roll. Moreover, McAdams brings a great deal of credibility to the role; she acts exactly as a woman in a hostage situation would. In expertly portraying an intelligent, professional woman with a consistent personality, McAdams makes her case as a strong leading lady rather than as the archetypal pretty face.
"Red Eye" doesn't have too many surprises, and it loses some of its tension and plausibility when the passengers deplane, but it has many more good elements than bad ones. With McAdams and Murphy, one can't go very far wrong.