Eye in the Sky
Directed by Gavin Hood
- drama
- thriller
- war
The story
A UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” As American pilot Steve Watts is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of US and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.
What it’s like
Cool, clinical light dominates: fluorescent-lit military command rooms in London, Nevada and Hawaii, the grey-green gloom of a Nairobi market, and the grainy, desaturated greys of a drone's infrared feed, shot in a restrained, observational style with long locked-off shots of people staring at screens. Much of the film plays out as talk, with tight cutting between briefings, cabinet offices and a hot Kenyan street, and the score is a sparse, tense pulse that swells only at the moments of decision. The vibe is taut, anxious and quietly furious, a slow-building dread of waiting and second-guessing rather than action for its own sake. The tension is moral and procedural, so the mood suits a focused evening watch rather than background viewing. Violence is restrained but unflinching: it is mostly seen from above and at a remove, with a few brief, sharp moments of real-world harm and no gore for its own sake. Its people are officials, soldiers and diplomats caught in arguments about responsibility, and their arcs trace hardening and doubt under pressure. Best for viewers who want a serious, dialogue-driven political thriller about the ethics of modern war, not a gentle or escapist watch.
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