EYE IN THE SKY
Directed by Gavin Hood
Written by Guy Hibbert
Starring: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Barkyad Abdl, Gavin Hood, Jeremy Northam
Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) leads a secret drone mission to capture a terrorist group living in a safe house in Nairobi, Kenya. When Powell learns that the group plans to carry out a suicide attack on a shopping mall, her objective is changed to killing the terrorists. This has been a six-year mission so the stakes are high for Powell. The pilot (Paul) charged with the task of firing, sits outside Las Vegas on a base. It will take him only 45 seconds to explode the house in Nairobi.
In fact, all of the players in this film are able to watch what unfolds on screens from various vantage points. So despite most of them being many miles, if not continents, from Kenya, they have a close-up view of what is transpiring. This changes the stakes considerably. They must witness first-hand the consequences of their actions and decisions.
This film does an excellent job of laying out the pluses and minuses in the way war is now conducted. It offers up the moral complexity of this type of warfare and has each character react to it in a believable way. Highly recommended.
Patti Abbott
In addition to being the Crimespree Senior Film Critic, Patti has penned numerous short stories and her debut novel, CONCRETE ANGEL, is in stores now. She hosts a look at Forgotten Books every Friday with readers, writers and reviewers at pattinase.blogspot.com. She hopes you’ll join in.
