"Angel Eyes" is not much of a title for this romantic drama,
which seems to get its name more from the song that spurs
on the end credits than from anything in the film itself. "Eyes
Half Shut" would be more relevant, given Jim Cazaviel's
signature acting. Cazaviel's shtick could be interpreted as
either laid back or anesthetized depending on how you view
people who walk somnambulisticly through life--as he did in
"Frequency" in the role of a man who misses his dad so
much that he brings him back to life through the miracle of a
ham radio. Once again, Mr. Cazaviel--whose overly relaxed
demeanor could make you think of another Jim by the name
of Stewart--proves his ability to acquire (if not exactly rivet)
our attention by his very passivity, the kind of inertness that
might appeal to some women as the producers hope it does
in targeting this date movie to young women who manage to
drag their guys to the theaters.
Then again, perhaps Jennifer Lopez is the big draw,
because you won't find a heck of a lot of plot. As in every
romantic drama the idea is to keep the lovers apart as long
as possible, the audience knowing all along that whatever
enjoins their ultimate entanglement will be resolved as the
yarn winds its way to its predictable conclusion.
The Chicago P.D. provides the background, allowing officer
Sharon (Jennifer Lopez) to show her stuff whether her hair is
pinned up, all the better for her to deal with the sexist street
punks who allow Sharon to bash their big bald heads against
vehicles, or with her mane tossed suggestively about her
shoulders, as when she is out on dates with handsome guys
who pretend to be awed by her profession and never get
beyond talking shop with her. That's all about
to change when she is at the scene of a fatal car accident
resulting in the death of a woman and her young son. The
driver (Jim Caviezel) emerges shellshocked and in denial,
refusing to visit the cemetery that holds his wife and son,
resolving to pay it forward by being a good Samaritan.
When he saves Sharon's life, he is about to change his own
as well, helping the policewoman to work through a difficulty
she faces with her family--which has become her own
obstacle to a fulfilling relationship with a man.
"Angel Eyes" has a few things going for it, particularly the
banter that Sharon conducts regularly with the otherwise all-
male group of police officers she hangs out with. She has the
uncanny ability to turn the men's sexist gags back on them,
gaining their respect and the admiration of her nice-guy
partner (Terrence Howard). Each time she gets together with
the guy who saved her life, we expect director Luis Mandoki
to pump up the music, but Mandoki appears content to let the
chemistry between the two develop naturally. Gerald
Dipego's screenplay, however, offers little new to the genre
but provides plenty of sincere moments of non-police action to
keep the plot moving without contrivance. As Sharon's
folks, Sonia Braga and Victor Argo are stuck in
uncomplimentary and sanctimonious roles while Sharon's
brother (Jeremy Sisto) and his wife (Monet Mazur) do little but
function in a trite relationship.
"Angel Eyes," then, is a mixed bag: a pleasant enough date
movie for the young 'uns but a story lacking the "Sixth Sense"
mystery we are teased to expect at several points.
Copyright © 2001 Harvey Karten
