Good films require great deal of talent and work. Yet, small details are sometimes enough to deny greatness to such films. One such example can be found in Eye of the Needle, 1981 British spy thriller directed by Richard Marquand.
The plot is based on the best-selling novel by Ken Follett and set in Britain during Second World War. The title protagonist, played by Donald Sutherland, is Heinrich “Henry” Faber, top German intelligence operative who got nickname “Needle” because of the stiletto used to kill anyone who could stand in his way. While most of his fellow agents got caught by British authorities, Faber continued to operate in Britain until right before one of the most important moments in the entire war. In Spring 1944 everyone, including German high command, knows that the Allies are going to invade Western Europe, but nobody is certain where exactly. Huge concentration of American troops under General Patton in East Anglia suggests that the landing site will be right across the Channel at Pas-de-Calais. Faber personally investigates the area and finds that most of the planes and tanks are actually dummies and that can mean only thing – Patton’s “army” is a ruse designed to take German forces away from the real landing site in Normandy. Due to delicate nature of such information, Faber is ordered to debrief Fuehrer personally and supposed to be picked by German submarine off the coast of Scotland. His attempt to reach designated location is hampered by pursuit of British security services led by Inspector Godliman (played by Ian Bannen), as well as bad weather. Faber ends shipwrecked on isolated Storm Island where he finds shelter in home of Lucy Rose (played by Kate Nelligan), a woman living her 4-year old son and husband David (played by Christopher Cazenove), embittered former RAF officer who has lost legs in a traffic accident on his wedding day. Lucy, who has spent last years in monotony and away from the world, is instantly attracted to mysterious stranger and Faber, in the same time, also becomes attracted to the beautiful woman despite knowing that the romance would only hamper and endanger his mission.
Despite having relatively low budget, Eye of the Needle did very good job of reconstructing WW2-era Britain. Richard Marquand should be credited for that because of the very economic way he directed the film, and his skill impressed George Lucas so much that he later hired him to direct third film from original Star Wars trilogy. Marquand could also rely on a very good cast. Donald Sutherland, mostly known as character actor, excels in one of his rare leading roles and convincingly portrays character who is at the same time ruthless efficient killer and the man who could easily seduce lonely women. Sutherland has very good chemistry with Kate Nelligan, and scenes featuring two of them feature very strong eroticism which makes finale, which features strong physical action and melodrama, even more effective. However, all of Marquand’s good work is almost ruined by disregard for certain period details, like the anachronistic use of helicopters that would be revolting for any serious WW2 buff. Even more problematic is soundtrack by Miklos Rozsa which sounds not only anachronistic, but extracted from black-and-white 1940s production and forcefully inserted into modern film. Eye of the Needle, despite being a little bit disappointing, is a good film that should be recommended to all those who like good period thrillers.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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