Gli occhi di uno straniero

I THINK this is the movie I recall seeing, but cannot be sure, since there is no summary to confirm it. However, since no other Title listed appears reasonably close to the subject, I will assume this is the film in which Justine Bateman earned my respect as a serious actress. I have watched this actress in various movies and TV shows since her days on Family Ties. As Columbus residents, we watched that series regularly. We enjoyed Justine's character, but I did not appreciate how much she had matured as a performer until seeing this film about a wife whose amnesia blocks her memory of a prior act of violence.I truly did not know she was capable of such a strong performance. It was a compelling story that maintained suspense to the end. I have no idea why it only won 4.5 stars, as it is far better than most TV movie fare.

We watched this movie on a borrowed videotape because we like Justine Bateman and remember her from TV. The box did not say "made for TV", but it sure played like one. The sound was certainly second-rate, the budget must have been low, the acting was just OK most of the time, and sometimes not that good. Character development was not always consistent.

The film starts with Bateman's character getting off work, and encountering a crazed man in the train. He frantically says something to her right before he is shot and killed, but with her Walkman playing loud through her headphones, she can't hear him. Or so she tells the cops. Turns out she can read lips, and she and new lover, disgruntled cop, search for the money.

There are some twists, some turns, some betrayals, but overall none of the characters manage to gain any sympathetic interest. This is just a sub-par film that you wonder why they made. I rate it a solid "3" of 10, and worth seeing only if you are a fan of Justine Bateman.

Sometimes, a chef puts together a twist on a classic gourmet dish. Then the chef's employer comes in and removes what makes the dish special and adds on a heavy sauce that ruins the fresh, sharp flavor.

That's what happened to "In The Eyes of a Stranger." The screenwriter is a cousin of mine. He began this script as a college project which subsequently won him a hefty academic grant. The script was marketed to several companies and was supposed to go into production with Elizabeth Shue in the lead. Unfortunately, that company tanked before the movie could be made. It was not, at that time, the story you now see. The story was much darker, the heroine much more lethal and the hero a great deal less lucky than in this production. Because it wound up as an ABC production, the writer ultimately had to change the ending to make it happy. He was NOT happy with this turn of events, but when you are supporting a wife and kids, you do what you have to, right???

Lynn and Nancy both work in an office setting where everyone but the boss has cubicles. Nancy hates her job, while Lynn seems more dedicated but tries to sympathize with her friend.

Returning home from work on the subway, Lynn has headphones on and her music turned up loud. A frantic man runs up to her but she can't hear what he is saying. She just assumes he is a weirdo. Then Tony Franco enters with a gun. The man is shot, and a terrified Lynn flees, her clothes covered with blood.

Lynn eventually calms down while at the police station. There she meets Jack, who has long hair and a beard and gets passed over for promotions because he won't follow rules.

Tony and the man who was shot may have participated in an armed robbery where at least one person was killed, and what Lynn didn't hear may have been the location of the stolen money. The police decide to give Lynn a place to live and protection, placing a female cop in the apartment Lynn shares with Nancy. We don't see what happens in Lynn's apartment, but we sure spend a lot of time where Lynn is staying. And guess who spends more time there than anyone else? This seems like a soap opera at first, but a number of secrets get revealed (actually, that is characteristic of soaps) and numerous plot twists keep us guessing to the end. There's even some action. If you like soap opera, you might like this movie. I eventually did.

Justine Bateman has nice hair and looks good in her workout clothes (though we only get to see her jumping around for five seconds; what a shame). I don't think she has that pretty a face, yet so many male characters describe her as being so beautiful. In a movie like this, that's important. Actually, Bateman shows acting skill quite often. Just not consistently.

Colin Fox gives one of the standout performances as Richard, the man who raised Lynn after her parents died. Cynthia Dale makes an impact as Nancy in a few scenes, mostly later on.

The actor playing the head villain, though, gives the best performance of all. Since his name appears so high up in the credits, I have to assume this is Géza Kovács, though I never did catch the character's name.

There is some violence, but not too much. Obviously one of the early scenes is kind of bloody. There is mostly suspense and the fear something might happen. But mostly ... well, I can't give too much away, but soap describes it.

I actually ended up enjoying this.

I watched this film in error. I thought that the film was going to be 'Eyes of a Stranger' but instead it was 'In the Eyes of a Stranger'. The opening is quite action filled cinema. I assumed that this was setting the stage for the whole film. I was very wrong. The main two actors were wooden in their movements but perhaps were hampered by the writing. It quickly became a trite and dull film.

I recognised many of the actors as Canadian but was soon shocked at the sight of striped flags, police cars with PCT painted on the sides and people calling the police lieutenant 'lootenint'. Also, I was quite put off when Gordon Pinsent ended his sentences with 'huh'.

If a young woman was terrorised on a subway train, as the star of this film was, and had somebody shot right in front of her that caused his blood to splatter all over her clothes, I don't think she'd be calm within the hour. Within the first five minutes this fatal flaw was evident. The film did not get any better.

I started thinking in a different way. Perhaps this was a comedy. No that didn't always fit even though some very strange (funny) things happened I think that it was not meant to be a comedy.

There were the normal number of jump cuts but nothing too obvious. I guess the main problem was the two main actors couldn't do it. They couldn't act. The scripting was also bad so what does that leave?

A word of caution if you see something advertised. Be sure that you are setting yourself up for 'Eyes of a Stranger' and not 'In the Eyes of a Stranger'.