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Eye of the Beholder

Play trailer Poster for Eye of the Beholder R 1999 1h 47m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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9% Tomatometer 88 Reviews 32% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
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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Eye of the Beholder

Eye of the Beholder

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Critics Consensus

Improbable and muddled.

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Critics Reviews

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 03/06/2007
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. Go to Full Review
Time Out 01/26/2006
The result is compellingly bonkers. Go to Full Review
Jeff Millar Houston Chronicle 07/21/2005
Remove the directorial flash and filigree, and its narrative would be easier to track. Go to Full Review
Tony Black Cultural Conversation 02/16/2021
2/5
Neo-noir & near enough a bore. Go to Full Review
Gary Arnold Washington Times 01/24/2018
0/4
A pointless and trifling mystery fable. Go to Full Review
Adam Lippe Examiner.com 08/12/2010
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. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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ShawBarrie A Aug 18 I watched this movie when I was fourteen and it has stuck with me the last 26 years, but not in a good way. I was just here with my teenage crush on Ewan, promised this amazing film and got a bunch of flimflam. It thinks it’s smarter than it is. The only thing I can deduce from the premise is that he fell in love with her after watching her for years and went rouge for some reason. I’ve only seen it once, but it was so bad it stuck with me. See more Frans B @FransB May 5 Very confusing movie. Pity the cast, who are all VERY capable and talented, could not make more of it. Well, you run what you're brung, and if you have to work with this kind of script, there is no way it will run, does not matter the talent expected to perform. Sad really. Could have been great if it made just a little more sense, if it had coherence . So many loose ends and seemingly irrelevant occasions makes for vague and indifferent movie See more Anna P 11/03/2024 The leads are wonderful actors doing their best with what they were given. See more Hurtin F 09/13/2024 Easily the finest piece of cinema to come out of the 90s. Jason Priestly as a bad boy is absolutely brilliant, not hammy at all, and completely believable. Ewan McGregor's best work since Train Spotting and not at all awkward or weird, and Ashley Judd was simply incredible.. Her best scene in the entire movie was when she got K'd the F out. I actually half wonder if he made contact in that punch, irl, and whether it was the first scene shot, it might then explain her exceedingly peculiar performance, and even more peculiar crying the entire film. KD Lang's staunch heterosexuality was on display and then some. It bordered on toxic masculinity, and whatever the next notch up on that totem pole is. Definitely a must see.. 5/5 would never watch it a second time. 10/5 I wish my eyes didn't sting so bad from the bleach I had to pour in them whilst watching this cinematic marvel. See more Royal T 06/07/2023 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. See more Jelisije J 03/31/2023 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. See more Read all reviews
Eye of the Beholder

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Movie Info

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
Producer
Tony Smith, Nicolas Clermont, Tony Smith
Screenwriter
Marc Behm, Stephan Elliott
Distributor
Destination Films
Production Co
Ambridge Film Partnership, Village Roadshow Prod., Behaviour Worldwide, Filmline International, Hit & Run Productions, Eye of the Beholder Ltd.
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
Runtime
1h 47m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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