Angel Eyes is a 2001 romance movie about a mysterious man drawn to a feisty female police officer who start an unusual relationship ensues, though not everything is as it seems.
While she worked hard through the early 90s, it wasn’t until 1997 when Jennifer Lopez starred as the late singer Selena in the self-titled bio-pic before she really hit mainstream success, seemingly bursting on the scene with double-barreled talent of both singing and acting. She became hugely popular and a ubiquitous presence, both on screen and off with her memorable public appearances, relationships and rough and ready attitude.
Naturally, with studios looking to tap into that success, she was cast in a slew of movies at the start of the 2000s, most romantic films that made good use of her sexual dynamism and girl next door face. While most were at least box office draws, a few slide through the cracks and (rightfully) fell into oblivion. Count 2001’s weirdly bland Angel Eyes in that mix, a film that tried to take advantage of her fiercely independent persona while luring her to a mysterious handsome man.
Lopez is Sharon Pogue, a Chicago street cop, starting the film at the scene of a deadly traffic accident where she scrambles to keep a badly injured man (unseen by the audience) alive as rescue efforts swirl on around them. It’s not clear if she succeeds as the screen fades to black, skipping ahead in time about a year where she and partner Robby (Terrence Howard) continue to patrol the hardscrabble periphery of the city.
Meanwhile, we learn that Sharon comes from an emotional background, her father (Victor Argo) having abused her mother (Sônia Braga) to the point where Sharon actually had him arrested. There’s also her brother Larry (Jeremy Sisto), who is recently married and beginning to show signs he’s heading down the same destructive path. This has left Sharon an outsider to the family, something that makes for some turbulence when she is invited back home to witness her parents plans to renew their vows.
Then there is the mysterious man (Jim Caviezel) who walks the city in a long wool coat, sort of in a half daze but completely harmless manner. He keeps showing up wherever Sharon is, and one day in fact, saves her life when a thug with a gun corners her and tries to kill her. Looking to thank him for his timely actions, Sharon invites him to the local watering hole for a drink. She learns he calls himself ‘Catch’ and doesn’t talk much. But he’s very kind, warm-hearted and yes, he’s got this deeply-affecting eyes. It’s not long after, the two find a spark and begin to spend a lot more time together, eventually having sex in a nearby park, kicking off a bond that neither seem to want but can’t give up.
Obviously, you know who Catch is, and in most respects, director Luis Mandoki doesn’t try all that hard to make that secret. Catch is tormented by his past and near obsessed with Sharon for her part in his fate, which has him living in a barren apartment, abandoning who he once was and refusing to deal with it. So right away, we have two characters with dark history who find commonality. Can they help each other heal and discover the truth about what has really come to define them? You’ve been to the movies … you know they will.
The problem with Angel Eyes is its approach. It wants to treat Catch like some sort of ethereally changed man, walking the streets doing ‘nice things’ for people in his long flowing coat and unshaven face. Clearly, the metaphor we’re to take from this is that he’s now an angel on Earth, the second chance given him by Sharon having him become almost touched by grace. Unfortunately, that never really takes hold with the movie feeling all too artificial and forced, a sentiment that comes down like Thor’s hammer in a latter scene when Catch (whose false name is derived from a terribly contrived reveal late in the story) stops by a cemetary and delivers a half-baked soliloquy that is almost squirm-inducing for how hard it tries to yank tears from its audience. Forrest Gump did it leagues better.
There is a general sense of misdirection about most of Angel Eyes, the movie never sort of embracing either of its narratives, and while both Lopez and Caviezel are well-cast and good to look at, the movie shutters any chance to give them any weight with way too many threads to tie together. There are some truly good moments though, especially with Lopez making Sharon a believable cop trying to make a difference with a haunted past she refuses to let shape her, even as it does in nearly everything she faces. I liked several scenes where she confronts criminals on the street as a reflection of what her life is like with her family. It’s just too bad the movie plays so closely to the vest, keeping everything safe and predictable, from a troubled little boy across the hall from Catch to obvious encounters along the way as he and Sharon try to make things work. A scene with a trumpet could have been remarkable but it’s so on point and manipulative, it makes no sense.
You’ve probably never heard of Angel Eyes, it coming and going quickly back in 2001, but for fans of Lopez, who continues to be a major presence in entertainment, it might be worth checking off your list in seeing where she grown from. It’s not entirely a time-waster and might satisfy those looking for a pleasant romance to close out a weekend.