Eye of God (1997)

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This film is beautifully crafted. Rarely has a jagged time line film been so engaging (films like Memento and 21 Grams copy this style, and only 21 Grams does it well).Far from the over-produced fluff Hollywood is famous for churning out - you shouldn't expect your food to be chewed for you here. This is a movie for thinkers. Granted, very early in the film, you know what has happened, but this isn't a "whodunit" or a murder mystery so much as a highly evolved character study that moves with the grace of a swan in a dream. Despite the brutality, despite the violence of the content, the sublime performances and the delicacy of the director's touch enchant you. This is rockabye baby, until the cradle falls from the tree.The acting, from all of the characters, is utterly flawless. You don't even see acting at all. It's hard not to feel like a voyeur peeking into this small town reality. The ending, as some others have commented, may be traumatic for those who have survived similar experiences. There are some visually brutal sequences and the camera is NOT merciful. You WILL experience everything right along with the characters... ...and then you will be left in silence.

I rented this one just as a Nick Stahl fan but was really amazed by how good it was. The disturbing tone and plot line stuck with me for days after viewing it. Stahl was wonderful as a traumatized boy who is just barely surviving his pain. Stahl's work in this film just hints at the depths of talent we may yet see from him. I don't think that Martha Plimpton has EVER been better in her role as a young woman searching for love and redemption. Hal Holbrook, his face a mixture of world-weariness, sadness and kindness, is the real center of the film and he does an amazing job. One of the most moving things about this film was the idea that deep tragedy can strike at the most seemingly mundane of moments. Coupled with this is the concept that one can never really know what is in another's heart or mind. Because of the narrative form, one knows tragedy will strike, but the director purposefully seems to suggest that tragedy could enter into any setting, at any moment, with no warning. The bookend examination of the story of Abraham and Isaac is ultimately successful because Isaac (like the characters and viewer) was asked to have faith without any proof that seemingly negative events may have a positive reason. The director doesn't offer any pat answers to this dilemma, but he does show that tragedy can overwhelm a person.

I thought it was quite good. It gave me a feeling I haven't felt since I saw Sleepers. I loved the way the director overlapped scenes, and used flashbacks to tell the story. This is success where Pulp Fiction failed. All the characters were believable, and all the performances were good. In particular, I was impressed with the depth of emotion Nick Stahl portrayed without saying a word for the whole first half of the movie. Sometimes the ending you don't want makes the movie that much better.

I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma, I understood completely the feeling of the place, the time, the people. So many people think that life is simple in a small town, but it is not...all the dark secrets are there, all the illness that everyone attributes to living in large cities is also there.I couldn't take my eyes off the screen while I was watching this movie. Sometimes a film does come along that is everything a film is supposed to be.If you haven't yet seen this film, please make an effort to watch it, it will be well worth your time.