Red Eye (2005)

A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.

Director:

Wes Craven

Writers:

Carl Ellsworth (screenplay), Carl Ellsworth (story)

Stars:

Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox

2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rachel McAdams	...	Lisa Reisert
Cillian Murphy	...	Jackson Rippner
Brian Cox	...	Joe Reisert
Laura Johnson	...	Blonde Woman
Max Kasch	...	Headphone Kid
Jayma Mays	...	Cynthia
Angela Paton	...	Nice Lady
Suzie Plakson	...	Senior Flight Attendant
Jack Scalia	...	Charles Keefe
Terry Press	...	Marianne Taylor (as Teresa Press-Marx)
Robert Pine	...	Bob Taylor
Carl Gilliard	...	Taxi Driver
Mary Kathleen Gordon	...	Airline Representative (as Mary-Kathleen Gordon)
Loren Lester	...	Irate Passenger
Philip Pavel	...	Dallas Ticket Agent

Storyline

This is the story of a young resourceful heroine named Lisa Reisert who hates to fly, but the terror that awaits her on the night flight to Miami has nothing to do with a fear of flying! Upon boarding the plane, Lisa is trapped on a red-eye flight with a creepy villainous handsome and charming man by the name of Jackson Rippner, who's playing middle-man in the plot to assassinate a Homeland Security official. He's got her father pinned down by a would-be killer, using that advantage to coerce Lisa into phoning the luxury resort where she works and arranging to move the target into a pre-set position.

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Plot Keywords:

flight | hotel manager | hotel | airport | plane | 

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Taglines:

Fear Takes Flight

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence, and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

19 August 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Don't Airport

Filming Locations:

Continuum At South Beach - 100 South Pointe Drive, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$26,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,167,662, 21 August 2005, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$57,891,803

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,685,971

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, BenderSpink, Craven-Maddalena Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carl Ellsworth worked with his college friend Dan Foos on the story for many years before they sold the script.

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Goofs

(at around 13 mins) Straw in Lisa's drink at airport bar is there, then gone, then there again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marianne Taylor: Taylor. Bob and Marianne Taylor.
Cynthia: Just bear with me one second.
Marianne Taylor: There are other hotels in Miami.
Cynthia: I'm sorry.
Marianne Taylor: What is the problem? We made these reservations over six months ago.
Cynthia: I know, ma'am, I'm just not seeing it.
Marianne Taylor: Well, where's Lisa? Lisa always takes care of us.
Cynthia: I know, ma'am. She's out of town. Her grandmother passed away.
Bob Taylor: Cynthia, is it?
[...]

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Connections

Featured in The Making of 'Red Eye' (2006)

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Soundtracks

Where Do I Begin?
Written by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons
Performed by The Chemical Brothers (with vocals by Beth Orton (as Beth Oreton))

User Reviews

Red eye? The only thing "glowing" here is McAdams...

The problem with most thrillers is that they are not very thrilling. Rather they tend to be formulaic and producers know they can eventually move the final product, good or bad, to cable, so they invariably populate the story with B-level actors or unknowns. Harsh but true. The marvel of Red Eye is that it is a thriller elevated to the status of cult classic by highly focused casting. Hitchcock in his day understood that 1000 failings of the script and/or direction could be forgiven if the audience was able to connect early with the characters. And that's exactly what happened here. Murphy -- remember this is the guy who is considered to have delivered the best Elvis impersonation of all time -- happily and zestfully digs deep into the role of psycho killer. But, make no mistake, this film owes everything to McAdams. She is the chewy chocolate centre of this piece, the audience connects with her early on, develops empathy, and spends the rest of the film watching her facial expressions -- just as you would a close friend -- to see how she is doing. McAdams is one of the handful of stars to have aced the transition from teen wonder to adult star and as this review is penned (2013) she shows no sign of slowing down. Other critics have noticed something especially interesting about her performances. No, I am not making this up. She glows. She shines. The more important the scene, the more she seems to light it up - internally. Very few actors have ever been credited with this talent but I suspect in her case the gift is real. This film would have been a half-baked wonder but for the presence of Rachel McAdams. It will, I believe, over time elevate it to classic status.