Eye of the Beholder

R

Released Jan 28, 1999

1 hr. 47 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

9%

88 Reviews

Tomatometer

32%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

British spy Steve Wilson (Ewan McGregor), known as "The Eye" to his employers, is trailing Paul Hugo (Steven McCarthy) for an assignment when he witnesses Paul being murdered by his girlfriend, Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd). Haunted by the breakup of his marriage and by his absent daughter, Lucy (Ann-Marie Brown), Steve notices Joanna's resemblance to his child and decides to protect her. As Joanna wanders the United States, Steve follows and destroys evidence of her multiple killings.

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Critics Consensus

Improbable and muddled.

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Royal T

Maybe the worst movie made this century. Too many plot holes to mention. Terribly directed and spliced together. Ashley Judd was never a threat to win any acting awards, and this may be her at her worst. This movie would rank badly as an after-school special made in the 80's.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

06/07/23

Full Review

Jelisije J

A movie that had so many interesting ideas and concepts, but when you combine 6 different ideas into one movie you will ultimately get a bloated mess of a film.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Steve D

Unlikable and just plain dumb. Nothing the cast can do with this mess.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Based on Marc Behm's novel and a remake of Claude Miller's 1983 French thriller Deadly Circuit, this Stephan Elliot-directed (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) was originally optioned by producer Philip Yordan (yes, I can get a Night Train to Terror mention in for every movie) for Charlton Heston, but it took decades to be made in America. Stephen Wilson (Ewan McGregor) is known as The Eye, a surveillance expert called in to track down the son of his wealthy boss. However, that man is killed by serial killer Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd) as Stephen watches. Years ago, his daughter disappeared and he sees her as the grown version of her, so he keeps trying to rescue her. Going rogue, Stephen keeps following Eris, even after she is due to be married to a rich blind man named Alexander Leonard (Patrick Bergin) and gives up killing men. So why does he shoot her tires out and cause his death? Why does he save her from Gary (Jason Priestley), who has beaten Eris into oblivion and is preparing to assault her? Why does he follow her all over the country? How muchy of what Stephen sees is even real? Does Hildary (k.d. lang) even exist? Is this a cyberpunk movie (yes, it has dystopian tech, British accents and a rock star in it)? And how about the scenes shot in Pittsburgh? What a mess. I kind of want to watch it a third time to see if I can make any more sense of it.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

How could any sane producer put up any money for this garbage? This movie had no enduring qualities at all.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/21

Full Review

Audience Member

This is in my top 5 of the worst movies ever. Confusing plot, muddy character development, slow-moving in places, and atrocious ending. Had some good actors in it which were totally wasted, as was the hour and 49 minutes I'll never get back from watching this catastrophe. Ugh.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

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Stephan Elliott

Director

Ewan McGregor

Stephen Wilson

Ashley Judd

Joanna

Patrick Bergin

Alex Leonard

k.d. lang

Hilary

Jason Priestley

Gary

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

As misogynistic as anything I've seen in ages, it's tricked up with enough fancy cinematography (by Guy Dufaux) to guarantee it sub-Hitchcockian credentials of the sort that some reviewers eagerly hand out to Brian De Palma.

Mar 6, 2007

Full Review

Time Out

The result is compellingly bonkers.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Jeff Millar

Houston Chronicle

Remove the directorial flash and filigree, and its narrative would be easier to track.

Jul 21, 2005

Full Review

Tony Black

Cultural Conversation

Neo-noir & near enough a bore.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 16, 2021

Full Review

Gary Arnold

Washington Times

A pointless and trifling mystery fable.

Rated: 0/4

Jan 24, 2018

Full Review

Adam Lippe

Examiner.com

You're unlikely to see a scene as weird as the one where McGregor beats up Judd's blind fiance, as a way to warn him that she'll kill him. That seems counter-intuitive, but nothing in Eye of the Beholder reeks of anything near the notion of intuition.

Aug 12, 2010

Full Review

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Synopsis

British spy Steve Wilson (Ewan McGregor), known as "The Eye" to his employers, is trailing Paul Hugo (Steven McCarthy) for an assignment when he witnesses Paul being murdered by his girlfriend, Joanna Eris (Ashley Judd). Haunted by the breakup of his marriage and by his absent daughter, Lucy (Ann-Marie Brown), Steve notices Joanna's resemblance to his child and decides to protect her. As Joanna wanders the United States, Steve follows and destroys evidence of her multiple killings.

Director: Stephan Elliott
Executive Producer: Mark Damon, Hilary Shor
Screenwriter: Marc Behm, Stephan Elliott
Distributor: Destination Films
Production Co: Hit & Run Productions, Eye of the Beholder Ltd., Village Roadshow Prod., Behaviour Worldwide, Ambridge Film Partnership, Filmline International
Rating: R (Sexuality|Language|Brief Drug Content|Strong Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 28, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $16.5M
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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