Eye in the Sky

Gavin Hood, director of Enders Game and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, brings us Eye in the Sky. A film about the application of drones during combat and the ethical fallout of such weaponry. Filmed in South Africa, Eye in the Sky focuses on the local people who are effected by terrorism, and the counterstrikes from Western intelligence agencies. The film premiered at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival and had it's international release in April of 2016. 

This is a suspenseful drama reminiscent of many other war films from the last decade, but Hood sets his aside by taking a step back. Unlike other films of this hard to define genre, Eye in the Sky seems to capture, like the all seeing eye, the action across several continents whilst closely focusing on our mission in Kenya simultaneously. Helen Mirren stars as our woman in charge, Col. Katherine Powell, overseeing operation EGRET. Her mission turns from capture to kill and Alan Rickman, Gen. Frank Benson, agrees. But as they wait for final approval, many characters, including Aaron Paul's Steve Watts, begin to question the change and the potential fall out from an unprovoked attack that will cause civilian casualties. 

The film's editing by Megan Gill is of particular note. Most of the film's well executed tense moments are built by Gill's style. This allowed the film to fully dive into it's 'Thriller' sub genre and keep audiences engaged throughout. Her talents were of course magnified by Haris Zambarloukos' camera work. Creating dimension and contrast through his focus on cold, dark interiors with the bright sun and exteriors.

Rickman's second last feature and it was certainly an excellent performance. His partnership with Mirren on screen was a delight and seemingly the perfect match. The two embodied their characters wholeheartedly which shows clear commitment to the film, their director and their craft. Aaron Paul's appearance in this film was surprising. I haven't given him much thought since the season finale of Breaking Bad in 2013. However, once I was over the initial shock of seeing him again, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by his emotional performance. It seemed like Paul was at the brink of tears throughout his entire time on screen, but it wasn't out of place. I had clearly forgotten how emotive his face is and how brilliant he can be on screen in the right role. 

Overall, I felt like this film was reasonably paced and an appropriate length - any longer and it would have been exhausting. Eye in the Sky undoubtedly raises a lot of questions about the processes and chain of command behind any and all strikes. And whether or not decisions can or should be made by government officials any lower than the Prime Minister and the President themselves. Personally, with a utilitarian view on life, my decision in this scenario would have been made much quicker. But that wouldn't have made an interesting film now would it?