By Robert Scucci
| Printed
In the event you ever discovered your self questioning what it might be like if a Precog from Minority Report made a residing capturing smut, 1978’s Eyes of Laura Mars has the reply you’ve been on the lookout for. We’re not getting the sci-fi remedy right here, nonetheless, however fairly a neo-noir homicide thriller centered on exploitation and sensationalism, anchored by a screenplay written by John Carpenter and directed by Irvin Kershner. Because the thriller unravels, so does the movie’s titular protagonist, who finds herself caught between her controversial occupation, an escalating felony investigation tied to the deaths of her associates and colleagues, and a pool of suspects who’re just a bit too shut for consolation.
By no means afraid to go totally psychological with its premise, Eyes of Laura Mars checks off all of the bins for a compelling psychological thriller, and it’s largely due to the on-screen chemistry between Faye Dunaway and Tommy Lee Jones.
A Suspicious Quantity Of Precognition
Eyes of Laura Mars tells the story of its eponymous heroine (Faye Dunaway), a trend photographer who’s made fairly the identify for herself together with her risqué photos. Her work facilities on staging violent scenes involving assault and exploitation, typically echoing the sorts of compositions you’d anticipate to see in crime scene images. Laura’s work is the speak of New York Metropolis, and she or he lives the excessive life, particularly now that her images guide The Eyes of Mars is about to hit cabinets.
The night time earlier than her guide launch, Laura begins experiencing disturbing visions. She witnesses murders, however from the first-person perspective of the assailant committing the crimes. Nightmares alone wouldn’t be trigger for alarm, however Laura shortly realizes that these visions are tied to actual occasions. She’s watching her associates and colleagues get killed, with out figuring out whose eyes she’s really seeing by.
After crossing paths with Laura, Lieutenant John Neville (Tommy Lee Jones) is tasked with investigating the grisly murders earlier than the killer strikes once more. He suspects that Laura’s ex-husband Michael (Raul Julia) could also be concerned, largely as a result of the timeline of his return to New York Metropolis traces up with the rising physique rely.
What troubles John most is what number of photos from Laura’s upcoming guide bear a putting resemblance to unpublished crime scene pictures linked to murders that haven’t but been solved. Both Laura is blacking out and killing folks herself, or she possesses some inexplicable capacity to witness murders moments earlier than they happen. As John and Laura develop romantically concerned and the killer escalates, Laura begins pushing everybody away, realizing she now not is aware of who she will belief.
Neo-Noir Beats And A Traditional Twist
In the event you’ve spent any period of time watching psychological thrillers, you’ll probably clock the responsible celebration in Eyes of Laura Mars earlier than the credit roll. That doesn’t make the movie hack or spinoff, however it does depend on a logic that many fashionable, second-rate thrillers have become a well-recognized template for cranking out neo-noir thriller fare. Even with what I’d take into account a reasonably predictable third-act twist, the movie stays participating, particularly throughout Laura’s violent visions, when she is aware of one other one among her associates is about to be killed and she or he’s powerless to behave shortly sufficient to cease it.
Tommy Lee Jones’ portrayal of Lieutenant John Neville stands out as a result of the clear battle of curiosity between his rising affection for Laura and the case itself threatens to cloud his judgment. John is conscious of this and stays dedicated to fixing the murders, whilst his investigative instincts change into compromised. For all he is aware of, he may very well be courting the killer, unknowingly placing himself straight in hurt’s means.
Faye Dunaway’s tackle Laura Mars walks a nice line between a hysterical damsel in misery and a girl who’s had sufficient and is able to take management of the scenario. It’s a efficiency that provides depth to a personality who might simply collapse beneath a extra one-dimensional method.
Eyes of Laura Mars is equal components glamorous and violent, however what actually pulled me in is the way it leans into basic slasher beats with out ever totally committing to that lane. Many of the violence occurs off display, permitting the thriller to take heart stage whereas the stress stays intact. Issues solely worsen earlier than they get higher in Eyes of Laura Marsand you may see for your self by streaming the title at no cost on Tubi.