Red lights

I am falling in love with Cillian Murphy.

I suppose it was bound to happen, a skinny dark hair guy with beautiful cheekbones and eyes, not to mention phenomenal performances. After I had finished In Time I really wanted to see more of him because that role really brought the attention to him for me. Obviously I've seen his work before but I was paying attention to him per se. I find it's always nice when I go back to view an actor's work after I've fallen in love, and Red Lights gave the opportunity for more than just Cillian Murphy.

Burn Gorman and Craig Roberts from Torchwood and Being Human respectfully made for a great showing of British television and Toby Jones rounded out the British cast. Strange perhaps for a Spanish directed film but it made a joy to watch. Gorman especially because he played an American and it took me a while to recognize him. When they make you work for it like that it brings so much more of a reward once you recognize them - or at least it does for me. Roberts, likewise did an excellent job and was able to seem older in his role than he looks. Rounding out the cast are American powerhouses Sigourney Weaver and Robert De Niro. Now I'm not a huge fan of either of them, I like them alright but their not the draw for me, espeically De Niro however in this film De Niro was amazing. The skill he has on giving the performance he did without the use of his eyes as they were covered up with dark glasses made me speechless. In particular once scene when he's meeting Murphy's character during the scientific testing. He's all smiles when he's meeting Murphy but with Murphy's cold demeanor his face falls flat. It's a brilliant moment. Just by watching his mouth you can feel all of his emotions. Finally you have Elizabeth Olsen who I think did a good job more so towards the end when she's looking at the tape because she's directly in the action. I feel like they could have done more with her character, given her more because I feel she could have handle it.

The story itself is interesting with scientist debunking psychics only to come up against the most celebrated psychic of them all. The film starts out slow and some of the scenes are a bit awkward but even in their awkwardness they still work. I'm talking specifically about the scenes where Murphy asks Weaver about Olsen and then Weaver asks Olsen about Murphy. It's a fun way to set up their relationship even if it never gets fully developed. They could have done more with that but then again it would have taken away from the hunt for silver.

The film is all about finding paranormal happenings out as frauds and we see several cases of Weaver and Murphy going around investigating before we're brought into their classroom. It's interesting that the debunkers get less funding then the paranormal seekers. Again here is another one of my favorite scenes, maybe because Murphy is so effortless at it or because the focus is on his hands which are so graceful but while Weaver is talking about the ways in which the frauds work Murphy demonstrates. You get a little bit of flirting between Murphy and Olsen. The film moves on with competition from Toby Jones' paranormal department at the university and Simon Silver (De Niro) coming out of retirement and Murphy's one track mind to debunk him. I won't ruin the ending here because it is just so great that if you haven't seen it I want you to get the full effect of it.

This film has kept me thinking since I finished it. It may be slow at times but it keeps you engaged throughout the film - even through it's awkward bits. Cillian Murphy is amazing as is the rest of the cast. Red Lights is definitely worth the look.