» April 28, 2014

Whedon’s In Your Eyes about escapes, bonds

by Carrie Hillman

"Stahl-David brings out all the qualities of Dylan that make us root for him to escape the black hole of this corner of New Mexico."

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Joss Whedon’s latest creation, In Your Eyes, premiered last week at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. This film is the sophomore production of Whedon’s film studio, Bellwether Pictures, formed with his wife, Kai Cole, in 2012.

Fans of Whedon will remember Bellwether was created as a way to bring his unique and wonderful rendition of Much Ado About Nothing to the big screen. After seeing Much Ado in theaters twice, downloading the original score , and purchasing the Blu-ray Disc , I had high expectations for In Your Eyes. However, it’s unfair to compare the two films, as many reviewers have done so far.

In a role reversal from Much Ado, in which Whedon brought Shakespeare’s words to life, the man behind Buffy penned In Your Eyes and then turned the direction over to Brin Hill. While I’m a huge fan of Whedon’s writing, little can come close to the Bard himself. Comparing the quality of the two stories is, by extension, a silly proposition. Instead, In Your Eyes stands on its own as an interesting meld of science fiction and romance story. I don’t consider myself particularly well-versed in the genre of sci-fi, and this film was much more understated than the sci-fi I have watched in the past.

The plot focuses on Dylan (played by Cloverfield’s Michael Stahl-David) and Rebecca (played by Ruby Sparks writer and star Zoe Kazan) who live on opposite sides of the country, in New Mexico and New Hampshire, respectively. These two characters’ minds have been linked since childhood, allowing them to “tap in” and see the world, literally, through each other’s eyes. The connection was suppressed through their teenage years, manifesting only as vague feelings and impressions. But now, as adults, they have established a direct line to each other, enabling them to communicate at will.

Through his screenplay, Whedon created a world where the characters and story of Rebecca and Dylan were more important than any weird, mind-meld thing that was going on. That is to say that science fiction provided a frame to connect the characters, much in the same way that the setting or music might accent the plot — as a device to help tell the story. Interestingly, the screenplay never offers an explanation for the link, but honestly, that doesn’t bother me. In fact, leaving the reason for their connection unaddressed reflects how unimportant the sci-fi aspect really is. There are times when it’s better not to wrap everything up in a bow for the viewers, and I think this is one of those times.

When you look at the basics of the plot — boy and girl live 2,000 miles apart, but have a strange connection where they can look through each other’s eyes — it is easy to see how the director plays a critical role in making smooth transitions between worlds and helps the audience feel at ease with those transitions. Hill’s brilliant direction accomplished just that. I had to keep reminding myself that Rebecca and Dylan had never met in real life. Stahl-David spoke with Curiata.com on the red carpet prior to the premiere and discussed some of the measures Hill took to make the unusual interactions feel so real, even if it meant delivering lines to Kazan while hiding under a sink or a stool, off-camera. In the end, the result was seamless.

While all of the cast was amazing, one actor particularly stood out for me. Stahl-David’s portrayal of Dylan was so honest and heartwarming, it’s hard to see how he won’t win over audiences with this performance. Throughout the movie, we see Dylan struggling to fit in a place where he doesn’t quite belong. He’s a good guy who fell into a bad crowd. Dylan did jail time for some small-time crimes and is trying to make a new life for himself without ostracizing his long-time buddies who seem to be more interested in their next heist than in giving Dylan the support he needs.

Stahl-David brings out all the qualities of Dylan that make us root for him to escape the black hole of this corner of New Mexico. The allure of the local beer-drinking, pool-playing beauty Donna, played by Twilight alumna Nikki Reed, adds to that challenge.

Kazan also wonderfully plays a tortured soul, trapped in a suffocating marriage with a husband who is a doctor, convinced that his wife is in need of extreme treatment for mental health problems. (Husband Phillip Porter is played by Mark Feuerstein, who joked during the post-premiere question-and-answer session that he appreciated the chance to extend his acting range — from a doctor with good bedside manners to a doctor with bad bedside manners.)

There have been some less-than-stellar reviews of the film, including one that called Whedon a tad chauvinistic to have Dylan traverse the country to save Rebecca from peril. In light of my other work as a sensible feminist, I have to say that I think that Dylan traveled to save Rebecca because that is what that character needed to do, not because Whedon was trying to make a commentary on traditional gender roles. As matter of fact, Whedon has a proven track record of doing quite the opposite.

I was rooting for Dylan to get out of New Mexico because, no matter how hard he tried, it was evident that he was going to slip back into his old ways if he stayed where he was. Rebecca, on the other hand, had her own demons, but if she would have left her life in New Hampshire to rescue Dylan, it would have felt a bit heavy-handed, preachy, and out of character. And the chauvinistic analysis overlooks the fact that there were several times when Rebecca did rescue Dylan, albeit through advice and emotional support rather than physical presence.

In Your Eyes, although not destined to be a box-office smash like Whedon’s The Avengers , is still a beautiful film — and an intentional karmic balance to the blockbusters Whedon is now involved in. In pursuit of the mission of Bellwether Pictures, Whedon announced in a taped message played after the world premiere that In Your Eyes would be available for immediate download as a rental.

This decision is a step toward Bellwether’s goal to bring small budget films to the masses without the cumbersome expense of a traditional release. All too often, small budget films are unable to break through to the mainstream, leaving a hole in the landscape of film-as-art for the general public. Hopefully, if this new release method succeeds, we will see other companies trying the same model, inspiring more independent filmmakers and getting those films both made and seen.