Director: Gavin Hood
By Alex Watson
A gripping and powerful thriller, Gavin Hood's Eye in the Sky is a haunting insight into the fall-out caused by war. Sporting a suspenseful against the clock feel, every second in this picture applies more pressure to the already dangerous scenario. Helen Mirren and Alan Rickman provide a great offensive push to their characters as political and propaganda pressure begins to build. As always in this these tales, there is no happy ending to be had.
Colonel Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) has been on the trail of a group of terrorists and has finally tracked them to a location in Kenya. Eager to give the order for a drone strike, all seems straight forward until a young girl walks into sight. Soon things become complicated for both Powell and her superior Lt. General Benson (Alan Rickman) who face pressure from home and abroad to minimize the collateral damage. What could the consequence be if the order to fire is given?
Eye in the Sky is a war movie played out mainly from the backrooms and it demonstrates how in modern warfare, sometimes the most important decisions are made from far away. There is no big gun battle and it seems no-one is overly keen to attract an international incident. Powell is part of a four-man team in a London bunker, who finally has a target she has been waiting for pinned down. The roles of good and bad guys are always changing and when a girl selling bread steps into the kill zone that is when the tension cranks up. Everyone in this piece like its audience watches from a distance such as U.S drone pilot Steve Watts (Aaron Paul), powerless and free from blame. The only man here getting his hands dirty is Somali agent Jama (Barkhad Abdi) who is faced with spying inside the danger zone.
Smartly nobody in this piece is made out as the good guy and the parallels between right and wrong soon become blurred. Sat at an expensive table, Benson along with other members of British Parliament all concerned with the legality of the situation and are keen to deflect any potential propaganda. They all acknowledge Powell's concern that this their once to nail several wanted targets, but the blow up from this situation is a bigger worry. Frequently decision making is delayed in favour of escalating the situation up the chain. Time is against them and the implications are clear but still they insist on keeping their hands clean. Powell is a soldier faced with a hard task and Hood does a good job of presenting how affecting this can be.
There is a harrowing psychological edge to Hood's movie that even the audience feels to the core. Are Powell, Benson or even Watts not at fault for both given and obeying orders? Will the possible death of this innocent girl play on their conscience or can they sweep it aside? Like all war films, there is a sense that nothing will quite be the same after this. One scene sees a female politician berate Benson for giving the order while safely away. In response, he coldly rebuffs her lack of knowledge with "never tell a soldier that he does not know the cost of war!" This movie also asks smart questions of what could be, is the death of one girl a bigger deal than this terrorist group potentially blowing a public place sky high? Even the audience is put in the driving seat and the questions will go on.
Helen Mirren is superb as the committed soldier Powell and she gives her character a fine steely persona. Powell is desperate to land her targets but is still forced to wait and respect the chain of command. Watching her having sit idly whilst politicians joust with each other is like baiting a bear. Mirren succeeds in giving a realistic impression of the hard choices she is having to make. This film also gives us the final on-screen performance of the great Alan Rickman. As Benson, Rickman gives a fine performance that could have been an Oscar long shot. Benson is a leader who hates having military decisions interfered with and although he is keen to take the shot- he is forced to sit still. A presence like his will always be missed in cinema.
Eye in the Sky is a thriller that is high on octane thrills but is also very morally conflicting. Expect to ask some hard questions afterward.
