Eye in the Sky (2016)

Review

102min

Genre:         War, Drama, Thriller

Director:      Gavin Hood

Cast:           Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman…and more

Writer:        Guy Hibbert

-Synopsis-

Drone warfare thriller starring Dame Helen Mirren as a British military officer whose African mission to capture suspected terrorists turns into an assassination strike with dire consequences for the innocent, a modern-conflict drama from the director of ‘Rendition’ and ‘Tsotsi’.

You might be forgiven for thinking that this is a British version of last year’s Ethan Hawke drone warfare drama ‘Good Kill’ and there are certainly shared central themes and imagery here.

Both touch upon the psychological effects of drone attacks on their operators as well as the targets and the collateral damage they cause. But ‘Eye in the Sky’ paints the picture in the wider political and social context of the remote warfare legacy, and its effects on the decision-makers and society.

Since his best foreign language film Oscar win for ‘Tsotsi’  in 2006, actor/director Gavin Hood has had somewhat  of a hit & miss transition to “mainstream” filmmaking, but with this British production he manages to craft an incredibly timely contemporary conflict drama that hits all the right notes and provide plenty of food for thought.

Dame Helen Mirren stars as a British colonel who leads an anti-terror joint task-force which includes Aaron Paul’s US drone pilot, flanked by a host of politicians engaging in an often tragically comical passing-of-the-buck when making agonising decisions with critical legal and political consequences.

‘Eye in the Sky’ also has the unfortunate bittersweet distinction of being the last time we get to see the late-great Alan Rickman on film.

The events in the film take place in real time over the course of 1 mission in just under 2 hours; thus ramping up the tension and adding a sense of urgency to the portrayal of the many difficult global elements involved in modern conflict, when conducted by a democracy. Particularly within the context of the so-called “war on terror”.

It’s safe to say that ‘Eye in the Sky’ is a pro-soldier film but it’s certainly not pro-war; but neither is it anti-war, this is just a very focused and mature dramatisation of the very complicated human elements that come with 21st century armed conflict.

Having said that, by making every player sympathetic and conflicted about every decision they respectively make, the film glosses over the reality that some decision-makers have very little inner conflict when pulling the trigger, on all sides. And the opportunity to comment on the increasingly detached and technical nature of warfare, and its consequences for society, has been missed here.

The Bottom Line…

Director Gavin Hood crafts a timely political drama and gripping war thriller about the intricacies of modern conflict, shining a light on the players in 21st century warfare and their struggles while leaving it to the audience to pass judgement… or not.

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Doom (2015)

Ethan Hawke stars as Major Egan, a stern and decorated US Air Force pilot turned “drone” operator who struggles with responsibilities of conducting deadly warfare behind a computer screen; from the safety and comfort of a trailer in Las Vegas and against targets 7,000 miles away. As the line between terrorist and civilian becomes blurred and he starts to question the ethics of his actions, Egan must face the consequences of “drone warfare” and the effects on his family and the world around him.

Directed by Andrew Niccol and starring Ethan Hawke, January Jones and Bruce Greenwood among others.

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