Eye of the Beholder

You know, Ashley Judd really needs to stop making suspense-thrillers.

It isn't that the actress is bad in that type of movie — and she's been in her share. In fact, Judd often elevates what is standard material with her performances (both "Kiss the Girls" and "Double Jeopardy" being the most obvious examples).

And that's also the case with "Eye of the Beholder," a sleek-looking thriller that starts out with some promise but then sinks under the weight of bad storytelling and the filmmaker's pretensions.

The film's odd pairing of Judd with Ewan McGregor creates some surprising sparks. But the plot is riddled with huge holes, and ghastly lapses in logic, and the whole thing suffers from a troubling aloof quality that makes it hard to care about what's going on.

McGregor stars as Stephen Wilson, a secret agent code-named "the Eye," because of his unique skills on surveillance missions. However, he has become too detached in his personal relationships, which first costs him his wife and daughter, and then leaves him unable to communicate with others.

He's already on shaky ground with his co-workers and superiors when he receives a new assignment — tailing Joanna Eris (Judd), a beautiful killer suspected of blackmailing the son of a prominent British official.

To his surprise, the increasingly unhinged agent quickly becomes obsessed with his enigmatic quarry, even though he actually witnesses her murdering an unfortunate victim.

Urged on by hallucinations of his daughter, he even begins to aid Joanna, first by covering her tracks, and then by helping her in an escape — though he remains at a distance from her at all times.

It's at this point that the film really starts to sputter, with distracting subplots about Joanna's mentor (Genevieve Bujold), a blind winemaker Joanna romances (Patrick Bergin) and a vicious psychopath she encounters (Jason Priestley).

Not only do these plot strands go nowhere, the situations also lead to uncomfortable character turns — with Joanna becoming more sympathetic and Stephen becoming less so.

If that isn't bad enough, writer-director Stephan Elliott ("The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") practically bludgeons us with his odd psychological posturings and ham-fisted imagery to reinforce his ill-chosen points.

So give talented leads McGregor and especially, Judd, for trying to make it work, though their efforts are all for naught.

The performances by the supporting cast are a mixed bag, though, with good contributions coming from Bergin and Bujold, and a particularly wooden one from singer k.d lang, playing a sympathetic agent aiding the Eye.

"Eye of the Beholder" is rated R for violence (including gunplay and a particularly brutal beating), profanity, female nudity and glimpses of nude artwork, gore, a brief simulated sex scene and brief simulated drug use (heroin).