Eye in the Sky, a new film currently showing at Village Theatre, tells the story of Colonel Powell (Helen Mirren) and Lt General Benson (Alan Rickman) who are on a quest to take out some of the highest ranking Al-Shabaab extremists in Nairobi, Kenya.
From their sterile offices in the U.K., the two British military intelligence officers collaborate with U.S. forces (through two young Air Force officers operating a Reaper drone over Nairobi) and the Kenyan military (through their undercover field agents with bug drones) to follow the extremists into a house in a busy Nairobi neighborhood. Unfortunately, the house where the terrorists are preparing for a suicide bombing is right next to the home of a young family with a pre-teen daughter.
Through the extraordinarily sophisticated cameras on the military drones, everyone involved not only watches the terrorists but also sees the daughter spinning with her hula hoop and then going to sell loaves of homemade bread in front of the terrorists’ house. When the time comes to possibly take out the terrorists with missiles on the Reaper drone, the girl is in the way.
In a world where the demarcations between war and everyday life are becoming more and more blurred, what is the balance between loss of civilian life and taking out terrorists? How much more damage will those terrorists’ suicide bombs do than one carefully pinpointed missile with one known casualty? And should our military make choices based on so many probabilities?
Humanity and war collide in this realistic, thoughtfully-told story. “I was on the edge of my seat in the theater,” says moviegoer Elliott, “as the movie transported me into each room with each decision-maker in turn. Every person’s choice was a realistic combination of honor as well as desperation, and it was easy to put myself into the shoes of each person, from the girl with her hula hoop to the British Secretary of State.”
Eye in the Sky is a masterfully-told story about decisions that are quietly being made every day on behalf of the world. War is not fought in trenches or through French villages anymore, but through the decisions of a few powerful people, from the air through “eyes in the sky,” and with massive consequences for the world. I highly recommend this movie for its flawless acting and excellent storytelling as well as the significance of the story itself.
Director: Gavin Hood
Cast: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, and Barkhad Abdi
Run Time: 1 hr 42 min
Rating: R for some violent images and language
For movie showtimes, click here.
