christopher-underwood
Donald Cammell was a rare talent but perhaps like another talented Brit, Ken Russell, could become obsessed and then unrestrained, go just that little bit too far. Here is a near perfect film of excess, a fearful portrait of a serial killer we do not know (for certain) and through whom we see most of the action. The killings have been described as 'giallo' like and I get the comparison with the glorious Italian exploitation movies. Like in gialli, this is wonderfully shot with glorious interiors, all the better to be splattered with blood. Horrible deaths, macabre body disposal and a narrative constantly moving at a very fast pace. The performances are great, the film always looks tremendous and we are kept wondering almost till the end. And it is the end I take issue with - we really didn't need a car chase and an explosion. The tale had been well told and we had had a hard enough ride. The excess at the end may have seemed like a good idea but someone should have seen it really wasn't necessary, that it was overkill. Great film though, nevertheless.
Kieran Green
White of the Eye is a set in a small town in Arizona. Someone is butchering local women, and the investigating officer (Art Evans) is zeroing in on sound engineer (David Keith) who lives in the desert with his wife (Cathy Moriarty) and daughter. the film through wonderful uses of 16MM shows flashbacks which charts Cathy Moriarty's former relationship with Alan Rosenberg of Cybil fame,& depicts episodic moments which may give clues as to who the Killer may be, all is not what it seems which culminates in a rather bizarre climax. Directed by Donald Cammell Performance/Demon Seed, & also Ace Photographer on Nicolas Roeg films, there is lots of excellent photography especially innovative Steadicam (Larry McConkey)who is excellent wherever steadicam is used.the soundtrack is composed by Nick Mason (of Pink Floyd) a tour-De- force performances by David Keith, who does his best screen work, as does Cathy Moriarty of Raging Bull fame,
merklekranz
"White of the Eye" has a promising beginning as an unseen killer stalks and butchers an unsuspecting female. The kill scene is effectively cut between slicing flesh and a struggling goldfish gasping for air. David Keith and Cathy Motiarity along with some recognizable supporting actors do their best to save this stylish film. Unfortunately intriguing images alone cannot overcome a seriously muddled script. Numerous flashbacks and an overlong running time cause things to steadily spiral out of control. Eventually craziness prevails with stories of black holes and evolution deficiencies overtaking logic. The movie drags on until the final scenes in a gigantic quarry, where everything ends with a bang. - MERK
semanticon
There's a lot going on in this movie, I just look forward to the day I can finally decode it, which doesn't sound like a good sign. There seems to be something vaguly supernatural at the core of it and something about love. On the subconcious level it seems to make sense, I just can't get anywhere when I try to analyse it consiously. For those put off by the accusations of style over substance, have faith, this is an fascinating movie. There's one moment that is absolutly hair-rasing, the moment when we finally realize that Keiths mind is living in a diffirent world. The only thing that lets the film down is the ending, which looks like a Hollywood style tag-on but probably isn't. Once the car chase starts it's time to leave.
AD
