"You're at war with the human race. Oh. Kay."
April 21
2014
Discuss 'In Your Eyes'.
Joss Whedon and Brin Hill's movie went online yesterday, come tell us what you thought of it.
Simon
| In Your Eyes
| 12:48 CET
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68 comments total
| tags: joss whedon, brin hill, in your eyes
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@theonetruebix | April 21, 13:09 CET
Xander | April 21, 13:09 CET
[ edited by gossi on 2014-04-21 22:13 ]
gossi | April 21, 13:13 CET
Simon | April 21, 13:18 CET
Nebula1400 | April 21, 13:21 CET
Anyway I liked it a lot, the more I think about it the more I appreciate it. Zoe and Michael were really great, they have more chemistry being apart for 98% of the movie than many onscreen couples have together.
banner | April 21, 13:27 CET
Nebula1400 | April 21, 13:31 CET
gossi | April 21, 13:33 CET
Xander | April 21, 13:42 CET
- both of them being locked up with no way of convincing anybody of their connection.
- Dylan being imaginary after all. Him not being at the tracks immediately was evil!
- Rebecca not getting onto the train.
Thankfully, none of that happened. What happened was a wonderful movie starring two people with amazing chemistry. :)
Huschel | April 21, 13:58 CET
feelinglistless | April 21, 14:11 CET
TenTonParasol | April 21, 14:20 CET
Nebula1400 | April 21, 14:22 CET
Wesbi | April 21, 14:30 CET
I totally agree with banner - I was thinking the whole way through the film that these two had such fantastic chemistry considering they were never on screen/in the same room together until the very end.
That love scene was so well done, I almost felt it myself. haha
I'm also really pleased that they didn't feel the need to explain the connection - it just was.
misswed | April 21, 14:39 CET
Plus, the first time around I missed a lot of the dialogue. 'Benign cooties' is now on the list of my favourite Whedonisms.
I think the happy ending worked in this movie because with Joss you know that a love story won't necessarily end well, so there's actually an element of suspense that more mainstream Hollywood movies don't offer with their happy endings.
[ edited by Effulgent on 2014-04-21 23:42 ]
Effulgent | April 21, 14:40 CET
I watched it last at the festival and the audience really seemed to enjoy it. Lots of laughter and all that good stuff. Though, the guy next to me clapped at the end of the "touchy feely" scene. Not sure if he was serious or being sarcastic.
Anyway I really enjoyed it except I was initially disappointed by the ending. I guess I was just left feeling like there was more to tell since I feel like the authorities eventually caught up to them. However, the more I thought about it, the more it's grown on me.
[ edited by Destructo Girl on 2014-04-21 23:49 ]
[ edited by Destructo Girl on 2014-04-21 23:50 ]
Destructo Girl | April 21, 14:42 CET
Once I got involved with the characters and started rooting for them, that's when I remembered it was a Joss film. I got cautious.
I really needed to watch something with a happy ending today, and I was worried - I think it may have prevented me from actually enjoying the ending, but I was definitely relieved when the credits rolled. It's a bittersweet and open ending and I'm happy with it.
The acting was wonderful (I mean, as some of you said, they're talking to themselves the ENTIRE time) and I absolutely dig the concept. I'm a bit meh on the visuals (too dark at times, very orange colours for the LA scenes) and I thought the film was a tad too predictable at times but I definitely enjoyed it a lot. It's not the most Joss-y thing that's ever been done, but it's a lovely piece of cinema and I suspect I'll watch it again before my rent time expires.
And that love scene *was* amazing.
Roxanne_ | April 21, 15:11 CET
Also loved:
1. At the end, they're both running toward each other, instead of one after the other.
2. Zoe Kazan's face.
3. The soundtrack.
4. Best. Masturbation. Scene. Ever.
5. The Trailer Home of Romantic Vision.
6. The metaphor.
7. It could have been called In Your Nose, but isn't.
[ edited by Pointy on 2014-04-22 00:29 ]
Pointy | April 21, 15:19 CET
@Destructo Girl: I posited in my review that the ending is going to be the sticking point for some people. I think there's no "real" way to resolve this movie's premise, since it has to either put them together at the end or not, and each option would present it's own obstacles and baggage. Me, I think what's relevant about the ending isn't so much what, specifically and in a real-world sense, would happen to them next, and more the idea behind it: that, yes, people can find a real connection but the world pretty much is going to wreck you in the process. We get, technically, the happy ending, but does Joss really believe in the idea that as long as two people have each other, nothing else matters? I don't know. And I don't think the film answers that particular part of the question, but leaves it for each viewer to settle into it as they see fit.
@theonetruebix | April 21, 15:45 CET
I do have problems with the end. The filming of the last 5 minutes is wonderful. You truly don't know what is going to happen, but it doesn't so much end as stop. And I can't see any real happy ending considering all that Dylan did to get there.
Lioness | April 21, 17:18 CET
And yay for a rom-com that takes the time to show two people falling in love rather than just telling us they are because they're in a rom-com.
It was just...wow. And for as inventive as the premise was, I've never seen a more "normal" Joss film, and it really was sold by the performances. Makes me wish it was a TV show so I could watch the next episode and see more of Rebecca and Dylan.
I'll probably be watching this at least once a night for a week, now. Those last ten minutes WERE TORTURE (especially 'cause that's when Vimeo decided to pause every 5 seconds, ugh).
Thanks, Joss. Thanks Zoe, Michael, and Brin. That just made me happy. (I choose to believe Rebecca and Dylan escape to Canada and everything goes super fine.)
[ edited by pat32082 on 2014-04-22 03:09 ]
pat32082 | April 21, 17:28 CET
Wesbi | April 21, 17:32 CET
Lioness | April 21, 17:52 CET
I love the love making/masturbation scene, it was very well shot and acted. Zoe Kazan and Michael Stahl-David are actors I really love, so I'm glad they both get to shine in this script. If you did not see Ruby Sparks yet, please do. Zoe has an amazing scene in it and just thinking about it takes my breath away.
As much as I loved our main characters and their interaction, their side stories (especially Rebecca's) could use some development. I hated Rebecca's husband but the script didn't help at all. He was too one dimensional, something I wouldn't expect from a Whedon script. I don't mind connecting the dots or not being explained the reason why these two have a supernatural connection. On the contrary, I like how the movie just said "Why not?" and moved on. It gives me hope to one day find that connection, because... why not?
I'll have to see the movie one more time before my 72 hours are up.
under rug swept | April 21, 21:37 CET
And I totally thought the ending would include death or lobotomy or something. But, really, Joss pulled a Joss by having it all seem to work out okay, because none of his fans were expecting it. So it *was* a twist!
Of course, who knows what happens next!
Tee | April 21, 23:35 CET
Yes, it's true, but you have to assume that was a decision Joss made in the scripting rather a deficiency in the writing. From what I could see the whole thing is essentially doing what Todd Haynes did in Far From Heaven - boldly recreate the mode of one type of drama - in this case the ABC/Hallmark television movie - but then do all kinds of things you'd never find in an ABC television movie like a masterbation scene, swearing, that sort of thing. As a function of that you do need to keep some elements like relative stock, generic secondary characters.
feelinglistless | April 21, 23:36 CET
Simon | April 21, 23:47 CET
Philip makes no attempt to connect with his wife and quite simply he is not interested in her as a human being. His every conversation with her or about her involves self-interest and propriety.
[Compare and contrast with Dylan who is happy to have conversations with Rebecca, one human being to another, without a care in the world how him talking to himself is perceived by people around him.]
And, when Philip is being selfish, insensitive or patronising, Rebecca either laughs it off or apologises. And the movie is very much not ok with this, however minor his each individual action (except the last one) may seem on its own. A bad marriage does not have to involve physical violence or abuse to not be ok. That's what I took from Philip's character and the way he was written.
The more I think about this movie the more I understand why I like it so much, and I think it will connect with a lot of women.
[ edited by Effulgent on 2014-04-22 09:48 ]
Effulgent | April 22, 00:47 CET
gossi | April 22, 01:16 CET
Ragondux | April 22, 01:25 CET
Effulgent | April 22, 01:29 CET
gossi | April 22, 02:12 CET
mythtake | April 22, 02:32 CET
Simon | April 22, 02:53 CET
And from what Rebecca said about her father...
pat32082 | April 22, 03:02 CET
Effulgent | April 22, 04:08 CET
gossi | April 22, 04:30 CET
Love finally conquers all.
Although, is love going to feed them at the end of the day? How they go on from there is left for our minds to figure out.
Love the direction (Hill pulled us into the story)- actors played the roles so good. Can actually hear Joss humor and hope for these two as the story goes on.
Who else saw the 'love making' a mile a way? *hands up from first 10 min*
I'm still giggling at the thought of Joss april fooling us with a movie no one dies in or breaks our hearts.
Can I just applaud Zoe and Michael - they clearly shot in two different sets – but they made it seem as if they weren't talking to themselves but to each other. Acting.
My one neg is the side characters. While it was clear from the setting of the movie is the Two get lost in each other, the people around them fade into the background, so no obvious focus will be given to them. But, I would’ve liked ‘something’ re: the side-char– his childhood friends. At least I would’ve expected something in his parole officer or the girl that still came back even though he talks to himself. I felt invested only in the Two. But as no real attention was given to anyone else I’m not that concerned about it. (I mean her husband was clearly a patronizing ass and deserved that punch).
A second watch is definitely called for.
Side note: I would REALLY love to see the in-between. BEFORE they talked to each other and figured out the connection. When she saw him in prison or he felt her depression etc. I mean, why now – why not then?
[ edited by Mirage on 2014-04-22 19:41 ]
Mirage | April 22, 05:10 CET
I didn't like the end though. It didn't really feel natural to me. Becky gets thrown into an insane asylum and has to break out? And oh yeah, now there's a high speed chase? And a train to freedom? What? It was like a completely different film to the one I had been watching for the last 90 minutes.
Kaan | April 22, 06:53 CET
Unlike most, I found the love scene to be lacking, and in my opinion, a bit cheesy. I would have rather they implied it without actually showing it, and that's not because I'm a prude. I just think the execution is hard to pull off. Clearly it resonated with most, however, so I'm in the minority here.
Finally, I hated the distribution channel. Just an awful viewing experience, and I have great internet. I hope I get to see it again with out the stops and buffering. That being said, I look forward to future projects from the cast and crew.
Jelly | April 22, 07:27 CET
bivith | April 22, 09:19 CET
And though people are saying this film isn't typically Whedon, maybe Joss was going for an even deeper version of himself via Rebecca (and sometimes Dylan) as he did with Buffy, dealing with his fears and insecurities ("It does cover my unsightly skull"), and how when your love is right for you, it becomes your everything, your touch point, your grounding in this life. Who doesn't want that. He gets some good stuff off via the above quoted lines, including the great "benign cootie" which nice, but dull Donna doesn't get. Also, the "There's my mom. She has my eyes. A little grey with flecks of panic". Pure Joss. Thank you Joss for still believing in love, the good kind, where each person feels free to be themselves.
[ edited by Tonya J on 2014-04-22 21:03 ]
[ edited by Tonya J on 2014-04-22 21:06 ]
Tonya J | April 22, 12:02 CET
The dialogue was crisp and funny, the emotions were believable.
So what didn't work for me? Three things.
One: Who could not realize that people would notice them talking out loud to themselves in public? They're in love, yes, but neither of them is stupid and every time they'd start to do it again my wife and I were pulled out of the movie to talk about ways they could have made it work. Like wearing a bluetooth phone all the time. Or, I dunno, whispering.
Two: There wasn't a lot of conflict. He left before getting too far into a new crime. She got away from her husband without much trouble. I kept waiting for things to happen that never did, an ongoing feeling of anticlimax. The most conflict either of them will face is actually after the movie ends, when they try to make a new life without him going to jail for parole violation and car theft and her going back to the hospital. I'm not saying it needed to be there, only that I kept expecting it, so maybe the fault there is mine.
Three: I would have liked to have seen the ending be a bit more even-handed. While he's telling her step-by-step how to break out of the hospital, it would have been nice if she was telling him where to turn to get away from police in this town he's never been to. She didn't seem to have as much agency as he did, even to how she got on the train, and I tend to expect Whedon women to be stronger than that. Again, this may be me.
I'll definitely be watching it again, and I'd love to see a making-of feature or read the script to see what I've missed.
C. A. Bridges | April 22, 12:04 CET
And he might have helped direct her out of the hospital, but she was still the one who got herself out. She made that choice.
pat32082 | April 22, 12:46 CET
Jelly | April 22, 13:17 CET
Effulgent | April 22, 13:28 CET
C. A. Bridges | April 22, 13:35 CET
Jaymii | April 22, 14:50 CET
[ edited by Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch. on 2014-04-23 02:15 ]
Out. For. A. Walk. Bitch. | April 22, 17:14 CET
Sunfire | April 23, 06:43 CET
bubblecat | April 23, 14:47 CET
Anyway, I thought the movie was just lovely. Simple. I was enthralled and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Yay movies!
streetartist | April 24, 15:36 CET
The "connection" previously only happened asymmetrically. One of them was in a rough spot and the other could feel it. When the movie happens when BOTH of them are in a rough spot. Rebecca feeling that Phil just thinks she's crazy and does the weird stuff for attention, Dylan not knowing what to do with his life after prison, trying to connect to bar-girl but failing. They both had nobody left to talk to. So they finally were able to talk to each other.
@C. A. Bridges
She did give Dylan directions. Also, this wasn't Exeter (her hometown), I believe. It was an institution different from the one her husband works in so she might not know every little corner of the place. Plus she sort of had a thing going on herself where she had to be stealthy and not attract attention and constantly shouting "go left here!" while trying to sneak past orderlies in a mental institution might have been counter-productive. Once she was outside, they were both already on foot. I really wouldn't know what else she could've done. Not sure how this makes her come off as not strong enough for a woman in a Joss project.
edit: grammar is hard.
[ edited by D-e-f- on 2014-04-25 12:06 ]
D-e-f- | April 25, 03:05 CET
Does anyone possibly have this somehow?
pat32082 | April 25, 03:18 CET
eddy | April 25, 06:28 CET
This is probably where the bit about it having been written in the 90s is from.
Michael Stahl-David: Yeah, I mean, I feel like there’s a certain amount of suspension of disbelief there for sure. Get a headset! You could do that.
Zoe Kazan: The truth is that Joss wrote this movie in 1992 or something. It was a long ass time ago before there were cell phones. So when we asked all the questions, “Why doesn’t she just wear headphones?” The answer was because this is actually supposed to be 1992 so just don’t ask those questions.
I didn’t realize it goes back that far. This is before “Buffy.”
Zoe Kazan: He’d done drafts since then. He sort of rewrote it over many years but I know that the original conception was when he first moved to L.A. out of Wesleyan.
D-e-f- | April 25, 07:06 CET
@theonetruebix | April 25, 12:46 CET
Really enjoyed it and definitely worth the watch. I did find it a bit lacking in a few places though. Most of the things have already been mentioned, such as the horrid husband and the rather obvious talking in public that they both seemed to make little effort to disguise (the above explanation makes a lot of sense as to why they didn't just have a phone glued to their faces for the entire time.) At least the later was played for laughs in a few occasions and the former gave us that satisfyingly "thumping" good moment towards the end.
I also felt that a couple of the side stories were a little undeveloped. Dylan's attempt at a relationship with Donna was funny, but didn't seem to lead anywhere or have any fallout. More seriously, the pressure he was under from his old friends petered out too, after being built up for so long. On Rebecca's side, her husband committing her as he thought she was having an affair pushed him a little too much over from just being a dick to being a pantomime villain. I think an additional scene in which he confronts her and perhaps her trying to explain what was actually happening might have helped here or at least him having a little more evidence that something was happening to her.
Not to continue being negative (I honestly did like the film,) I wasn't too keen on the reaction from Dylan and Rebecca to what they were experiencing either. Although the film is 100% right to avoid giving any kind of explanation to what was actually happening, you would have thought that at least one of the characters would question it and want to find the cause. This is made even more problematic by one of them having a history of mental illness. Rebecca not giving any thought beyond that initial moment that Dylan might be all in her head just doesn't ring true. I also think that they would have made some sort of effort to actually meet each other before the finale. They obviously both had obstacles preventing either of them from actually traveling the great distance, but you would have thought they might have at least mentioned the possibility of actually meeting this person that they inexplicably have this incredible connection with.
As I say, I really did enjoy watching the film though. The performances from both the leads was fantastic, even more so given that they had to act to nothing for the majority of the time. The scenes in which they just talked together were really a joy to watch, particularly the playful moments, such as them dancing and the first time they saw each other in the mirror. I was moved by the story and was so relieved by the end that we actually had a happy ending. I didn't need anything beyond what we saw either; they were together now and that was all that mattered for this story.
Vandelay | April 25, 13:33 CET
Some of the writing/characterization wasn't that great, I can agree with that. But the main scenes with Rebecca and Dylan were golden, and that's what sticks around the most (for me). I plan to watch it at least once more during my rental period, but I'm really looking forward to the day this is available for purchase on Blu-ray. My Vimeo stream wasn't choppy, but I'd love to see it in a much higher quality/color-accurate format.
skizzoid | April 25, 18:57 CET
Let Down | April 25, 19:04 CET
Also, can someone explain to me why he stole the second car? He apparently had money to rent a car--he was just missing ID--but he couldn't pay for a cab? I'm a little baffled by this decision. Was it just a timing thing? He didn't want to spend time catching a cab... at the airport?
Anyway, normally I'd probably let something like that go, but as they say, if I'm noticing it then it's probably a sign about the movie as a whole. Very glad others are enjoying it, though. The world lacks for great contemporary romance films, and I'm happy that Joss & co. went for it, even if the results didn't suit me in particular.
sumogrip | April 26, 06:51 CET
Also I really like color palette differences between New Mexico and New Hampshire and how the snow is almost a character. But seriously what's the deal with all of the bumper covers?
garyyager | April 27, 17:17 CET
It was very cliched. The husband is poorly written and a one-note villain. That and the crooks' stuff was just so predictable. I mean, I get that they wanted obstacles, but I'd just rather watch them explore their connection. Or they had to come up with better obstacles.
Also, the horrible husband character damaged the Becka storyline. I just didn't really get their relationship. It was heavy-handed without being clear. Is she depressed? Is she unhappy? What's her deal? I don't need her to be strong. You know, woman are allowed not to be strong. But they could've done better. Dylan was fantastic though.
Having said that... I loved the concept and how they didn't try to explain it. I loved the look and feel of it. And despite the things I didn't like, I was really invested in the movie and the characters. The tension at the end was palpable. I liked that there was no twist.
Ricardo L. | April 28, 02:49 CET
Butler | April 30, 15:14 CET
Then I saw a few bad reviews. Which I get that not everyone has to like everything that I do (*coughcrazypeoplecough*) (I'm kidding) but one person said that the duo sank into their fantasy world and let their real life slip which is only sort of true. Because once they both realized that they weren't crazy they finally for the first time were able to actually assess their lives for what they were! Because for the first time neither of them felt like they were insane! To know that fact, even a crazy one like they can hear and see someone else, had to be a giant relief and of course they were going to wallow in it! Who the heck wouldn't? And once that obstacle was removed, that constant fear they were crazy, I think they were finally confronting their lives for the first time... just, you know, slowly.
NYPinTA | April 30, 19:42 CET
There is nothing wrong with abandoning a partner or friends who seek to control and/or exploit you.
Nebula1400 | May 01, 19:49 CET
I'm so relieved to read that I was not the only one anxiously fearing that something bad would happen ;)
There simply are on words to describe the genius that is Joss in my opinion.
snj | May 22, 00:01 CET