thingsyoucantelljustbylookingatherblog

"A gimmick-gone-right crime
thriller."

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

A gimmick-gone-right crime thriller smartly directed by Lee Bonner
and co-written by Mr. Bonner and Sean Paul Murphy. It reminds me of the
somewhat successful experiment Robert Montgomery pulled off in his 1946
film noir Lady in the Lake, that is shot entirely with a subjective camera
to allow the viewer to see the world through private eye Marlowe's eyes. 

"21 Eyes" is the title taken when released on DVD, it was called
Replay when released to film festivals in 2003. The "21 Eyes" represent
21 security cameras that catch a jewelry heist and murder spree in progress
in the plush secluded home of paranoid and obsessive gem dealer Seth Collison
(Nestor Serrano). Since the Sophia diamond valued at $10 million was recovered
and the three robbers were killed in the shootout (as well as several of
Collison’s employees), the detective in charge of the investigation, Berger,
closes the case without looking at the videotapes. But hardworking grumpy
junior detectives Scotty and Blu (voices of Michael Buscemi and Fisher
Stevens) view the tapes and are positive it was an inside job, just as
Collison told Berger but was ignored. The second-grade detectives get down
to business viewing the tapes and are heard but never seen, which might
turn off some viewers that the film is seen exclusively through their eyes
and is never filmed "live." I had no trouble with the gimmick, though I
really don't see any advantage gained.

The entire film is a police procedural one that has the viewer see
the crime scene just like the detectives. It puts the viewer to work acting
like the investigators, as the videotapes are fast-forwarded, rewound,
shown in slo-mo and from different angles while repeatedly covering the
same events, and are constantly reevaluated. The wiseguy detectives provide
the play-by-play of what's going down, crack cynical cop-like jokes, goof
on the subjects viewed, and order pizza. It should please film buffs that
one of the robbers lifts a line out of Maltese Falcon when he tells the
gem dealer to open the safe or you'll be "picking iron out of your liver."
The dead robbers are Quinn, Harley and Smink. The employers of Collison
are the sexy business confidante in charge of inventory, Belinda Brown
(Rebecca Mader), who has been with the firm for 18 months and also doubles
as Collison's girlfriend; the oafish security guard Chester Robb (Chance
Kelly), who was bounced from the police force over a bribery issue; Talbert,
an aspiring hammy actor who is the salesman; the other workers include
the nondescript Morty, Dunbar and front office man Cal. 

The low-budget indie sticks to its guns, much to its credit, and
keeps it all about the surveillance footage and finding out who's the inside
person. It takes the risk of losing some viewers who might not take to
such a detailed procedural film. But the script is clever and humorous,
the sharp editing by Murphy keeps the story line coherent and it leaves
the viewer who exerted so much effort going over repeated viewings of the
tapes anxious to know how it's resolved.