Looking at the Eyes of Laura Mars
A Review of the Photography Based Serial Killer Thriller
Laura Mars sees everything through her camera lenses. Then she begins to see the murders of a serial killer, through his eyes, and she's next!
The Setup
Laura Mars (Faye Dunaway) is on top of the fashion world in New York. She delivers sexy, edgy women in provocative poses, little clothing and holding guns. Not only is she popular but she’s controversial; people either love her or think she’s ruining the country. Then all the people close to Laura’s work start dying one by one, by a serial killer who stabs them in the eyes with an ice pick.
The Eyes of Mars
Such is the setup for Eyes of Laura Mars, a thriller from an early John Carpenter script. Thrown in the mix is the flamboyant best friend Donald (Rene Auberjonois), A grimy looking ‘prime suspect’ driver Tommy (Brad Douriff), and a detective who certainly has his eyes on Laura (Tommy Lee Jones as John Neville). Oh yes, and her ex husband shows up, apparently for the umpteenth time (played by Raul Julia).
The way it works is Laura will be on a photo shoot, or in a car, or crossing a busy street. Without warning she stops, her eyes go wide, and we see the serial killer point of view, with hazy edges showing a murder taking place to one of her people. She stumbles around aimlessly because she cannot see anything except what the killer sees which well, doesn’t work very well in Manhattan streets.
The Detective and the Driver
Neville of course, is into Laura, and she is naturally into him. Women in distress in thriller films cannot, it would seem make way on their own without falling in love. Neville gives her a gun (out of said love), though he has police watching her everyn step of the way.
Tommy the driver has a shady past, including armed robbery and assault. He carries a knife. Donald, who knows about his shady past, but gave him this second chance anyways, hired Tommy. Douriff is convincing in a thankless role, and with his shaggy hair, scruffy beard, and attraction to a dead model the viewer is obviously supposed to follow his or her nose to this potential killer. Nothing is given away by saying that Tommy is a poorly drawn red herring.
Photos Say a Thousand Words
Director Irvin Kershner knows how to spice things up with sexy photo shoots and models that know how to hold a smoking gun, and there are some intuitive shots, particularly between Mars and Neville when she’s explaining what she sees and how she sees it. However, Laura Mars is a by the numbers thriller with a poor, cheap ending and multiple plot points that are never explained. There is no reason given for why Mars suddenly has these visions. Perhaps it’s an interpretation of seeing the world through her eyes, her violent images psychically linking her to murder. There is no explanation why Donald would hire Tommy or why Mars’ ex husband is thrown into the mix, looks either scornful or lustful, and then disappears. Why isn’t there more emphasis on the powder keg that Laura’s art is supposed to evoke? None of this is truly resolved which makes Eyes of Laura Mars standard popcorn fare, and nothing more.
