The Eye is a thriller movie starring Jessica Alba and was released in 2008. The film uses all the codes and conventions that a thriller movie consists of. In order for the film to be successful, the main elements are consistent in the film. These elements are themes, characters, narrative and cinematic.
The Eye follows the story of young blind violinist Sydney as she goes for a cornea replacement surgery that leaves her with some terrifying new memories that were never there before. At first she sees how her donor dies, which is followed by the death of many people in her apartment, Sydney starts to find out that her donor had a gift through her eyes which now have been passed onto her, she wonders if having the eye surgery was worth it, as she find the darkness comforting, she refuses to see anyone and isolates herself in her room. However, the loneliness takes its toll on her so she decides to get to the bottom of what her memories are showing her, which in the end results in her losing her sight once again.
The main character, Jessica Alba who is known as Sydney in the film is shown as an ordinary young woman who even though is blind is a concert violinist. We, as the audience are able to sympathise with her as she is unable to do certain things on her own. In the first few minutes of the film Sydney receives a cornea replacement surgery. During the time of surgery she is seen to be brave and bold. After her surgery has been successful, she is distraught to find that her eye donor that she received did not only show her the real world but also showed her the underworld. Jessica Alba is shown as terrified and weak however she is able to conquer her fears.
The film allows the audience to see the story through the main character’s eyes. At the beginning of the film when Sydney receives her cornea operation the enigma that is created is that ‘was her surgery successful?’, ‘did the surgery go according to plan?’ however as the film progresses we find out that she is able to see again. After this, Sydney begins to see things that are unexpected, through the donor transplant; she begins to see the underworld. As the film goes on it leads to different questions, for example ‘Is Sydney always going to be seeing the underworld through her eyes?’ ‘Is she going to stay distressed?’ Suspense is created through the characters facial expressions and body language. When the main character follows the shadows that she sees through her eyes the audience is made to think that something is going to happen to her. In a number of scenes where Sydney is shown to be seeing the dead, it makes the audience wonder if they are after her and whether she has done something for them to be after her.
Throughout the film a number of angles and shots are used to help create enigma and suspense in the film. Enigma is created by using tracking shots when Sydney follows the noise she hears, keeping the audience focused on what is going to happen next. Suspense is created through using close ups and extreme close ups focusing on the main characters facial expressions allowing the audience to feel what the character is feeling. Long shots and mid close ups are also used to show the atmosphere and create a sense of feeling that something is about to happen. In the scenes where Sydney is in the elevator, she sees a soul behind her slowly walking towards her, a juxtaposition of shots placed together at a slow pace to build up tension, so the audience feels the anxiety reflected by the actress. In this scene, slow intense non diegetic sound creates more of an effect to what the shots are showing and adds to the build up of tension.
The main theme that is recognised in this film is the changes in Sydney's life prior to her cornea replacement. She allows the audience to join her on finding out the truth behind her donor and the eyes she gave her. The theme of mystery is built up by the various encounters she has when seeing dead people and how they died, because the actress is confused about where they come from and wants to find out, it keeps the audience intrigued to find out as well.
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