# Angel Eyes (film)

Angel Eyes is a 2001 American romantic drama film directed by Luis Mandoki and starring Jennifer Lopez, Jim Caviezel, Terrence Howard, and Jeremy Sisto. Written by Gerald Di Pego, the film is about a mysterious man who finds himself drawn to a female police officer with whom he forms a relationship that helps each to deal with trauma from their past. The original music score was composed by Marco Beltrami. The film received ALMA Award Nominations for Outstanding Actress (Jennifer Lopez) and Outstanding Director (Luis Mandoki).

## Plot

On a rainy night in Chicago, police officer Sharon Pogue is at the scene of a serious traffic accident holding the hand of one of the victims, pleading that he hold on and not give up. One year later, Sharon is frustrated with the men she dates and has become estranged from her family for having her father arrested after he beat her mother, Josephine. Her father and brother, Larry, have never forgiven her, and her anger is affecting her police work.
A man known only as "Catch" wanders the streets in a trance-like state, doing good deeds for strangers and neighbors. One day he watches Sharon at a diner from across the street. She notices a car pull up and open fire on the diner with a machine gun, Sharon and her partner chase after the suspects. Sharon catches up with one gunman and in the ensuing struggle, he gets her gun and shoots her twice in the chest. Seeing that she is protected by a bulletproof vest, he prepares to shoot her in the head, but Catch tackles him. That night, Sharon and Catch meet at a tavern and have a drink. A grateful Sharon tries to learn more about Catch, but he does not talk about himself. She invites him to her apartment, and after some awkward moments between the two, they share a kiss. Catch abruptly stops and leaves the apartment, leaving Sharon confused.
The next evening, Sharon finds a dandelion taped to her mailbox with Catch's phone number. She calls and awkwardly invites him to breakfast at a coffee shop the next morning. When Sharon wakes up, she has second thoughts and calls Catch to cancel their breakfast date. Catch is already at the coffee shop and never gets the message. Upset at being stood up, he confronts Sharon at her apartment before storming off. She follows him to his nearly empty apartment. Surprised at the living conditions, she demands to know more about him, but Catch refuses to reveal anything about his past. He only says that he is starting "from scratch".
Following the advice of a woman called Elanora, Catch calls Sharon to apologize, and the two continue seeing each other. They go on a lakeside picnic and share a romantic swim, after which they make passionate love on the shore. In the coming days, Catch is there to comfort Sharon after a family confrontation. His positive influence begins to show in her police work. One night they go to a blues club, and after the band has played a number, Catch notices a trumpet on the bandstand. He picks up the trumpet and starts to play a soulful version of the tune "Nature Boy". As they're leaving, the owner approaches him, calling him "Steve Lambert", and asks where's he's been. Catch denies even knowing the man and walks away.
The next day, Sharon investigates Steven Lambert in the police files and discovers that he is the man whose hand she held after the traffic accident a year earlier, and that his wife and child died in the accident. She goes to the house he abandoned after the accident, learning that he was a jazz musician and that the accident occurred on his son's birthday, causing Catch to create a mental block. Wanting to help Catch heal from his emotional wounds, she tries to talk to him about the accident and takes him to the cemetery to see the graves of his family, but he gets upset and walks away. Sharon visits Elanora, who is actually Catch's former mother-in-law. Sharon is looking for some way of helping the man she loves; Elanora encourages patience, telling Sharon that Catch will find his way in his own time.
At her parents' wedding vow renewal ceremony, Sharon tries talking to her father, but he tells her that he feels like he doesn't have a daughter. As Sharon starts to leave, she stops and tells the videographer a wonderful story about her father playing with her and her brother when they were children. She is deeply moved by this memory. Her father overhears it and is also emotionally affected, but when Sharon looks at him, he turns away. Meanwhile, Catch finally goes to the cemetery and talks to his deceased family, explaining how he remembers the wonderful moments they shared. As Sharon leaves the reception, she sees Catch waiting by her car. They embrace and profess their love for each other. As they prepare to leave, Catch tells her that he'll drive.

## Cast

* Jennifer Lopez as Sharon Pogue
* Jim Caviezel as Steven 'Catch' Lambert
* Terrence Howard as Robby
* Jeremy Sisto as Larry Pogue
* Sônia Braga as Josephine Pogue
* Victor Argo as Carl Pogue
* Monet Mazur as Kathy Pogue
* Shirley Knight as Elanora
* Daniel Magder as Larry Jr.
* Guylaine St-Onge as Annie Lambert
* Connor McAuley as Max Lambert
* Jeremy Ratchford as Ray Micigliano
* Peter MacNeill as Lieutenant Dennis Sanderman
* Eldridge Hyndman as Jamal
* Kari Matchett as Candace
* Michael Cameron as Charlie
* Dan Petronijevic as Street Punk
* Dog as Bob

## Production
### Filming

Principal photography started on May 8, 2000 and finished in early August that same year. Aaron Eckhart was cast as Steven 'Catch' Lambert but left a month before filming began.

### Filming locations

Angel Eyes was filmed in the following locations:
* Chicago, Illinois, USA
* Elora, Ontario, Canada
* Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Although the story is set in Chicago, several very clear shots of the Toronto skyline, including Toronto's very recognizable CN Tower, appear in the film, along with other recognizable Toronto landmarks, such as the Honest Ed's storefront, the Sam the Record Man neon light and a TTC streetcar. The scenes in and around Sharon's parents home were filmed at the Playter Farmhouse, an historic building near Danforth Avenue in Toronto. Some scenes were filmed in the village of Elora, Ontario, at Elora Gorge.

## Reception
### Critical response

Upon its theatrical release, Angel Eyes received mixed reviews. On the review aggregator web site Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 32% positive rating from critics based on 133 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Though the earlier part of the movie suggested something more, the movie turns out to be nothing more than a schmaltzy romance."
In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three of four stars and applauding the performance of Jennifer Lopez, whom he describes as "the real thing, one of those rare actresses who can win our instinctive sympathy. She demonstrates that in Angel Eyes. Ebert noted that although the film is a cop movie, "its real story doesn't involve the police, it involves damaged lives and the possibility that love can heal." Ebert concludes:
   Angel Eyes is a complex, evasive romance involving two people who both want to be inaccessible. It's intriguing to see their dance of attraction and retreat. Meanwhile, secrets about both their family situations emerge; credit the screenwriter, Gerald DiPego, for not resolving the standoff with the father with an easy payoff.
In his review in the San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle called the film "a rare thing—a well-acted character study of a hardworking woman, by a screenwriter (Gerald DiPego) and a director with enough integrity to dispense with the usual Hollywood distractions." LaSalle concluded:
   With Angel Eyes, audiences will see a new relaxation in Jennifer Lopez. She takes her time. She really listens. She reacts. She doesn't try to control scenes or control her face. She lets moments happen. Credit director Luis Mandoki, or maturity, or confidence, or an actress' finding the right role. Whatever the reasons, Lopez, who was always competent onscreen, is now an actress who can do things other movie stars can't do. She doesn't push, just thinks, and her thoughts and emotions burn into the film.
In his review in The New York Times, Stephen Holden focused his critique on the casting, writing, "Watching these two share some awkward smooches that are supposed to transport them over the moon is a little like imagining Jane Russell and Montgomery Clift in a steamy clinch." Holden concludes:
   Throughout Angel Eyes you are aware of consuming a market-tested product whose eerie atmosphere and tone of bogus solemnity suggest that Mr. Mandoki was given specific instructions to create a hybrid of City of Angels, The Sixth Sense and Frequency. He may have delivered, but the product is so synthetic it has only attitude where its heart ought to be.

### Box office

In North America, the film opened at #4 in its opening weekend and grossed $24,174,218 domestically. All UK versions were cut to obtain a 15-rating. Warner Bros. had to remove the aggressive use of graphic language or the film would have been rated 18. The film was a box office bomb, ultimately grossing $29,715,606 worldwide, well below its $38 million budget. Available on Netflix streaming in November 2018.

### Awards and nominations

* 2002 ALMA Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Jennifer Lopez)
* 2002 ALMA Award Nomination for Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture (Luis Mandoki)
* 2003 ASCAP Award for Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture for "Good Morning Beautiful" (Todd Cerney, Zachary Lyle) Won
* 2002 Golden Raspberry Award Nomination for Worst Actress (Jennifer Lopez)