Review of Eye of the Needle (1981) by Richard C — 01 Oct 2007

A German spy, code-named Needle (Sutherland), is operating in England during the Second World War but finds himself stranded on a remote island where the only inhabitants are a drunken lighthouse keeper, a crippled ex-RAF piolt (Cazenove), his attention starved wife (Nelligan) and young child. Can he convince his new hosts that he is a lost writer or will he have to employ more ruthless tactics to secure his passage home?

This is a WWII film on a far more personal scale than usual, shifting the focus away from bloody warfare and instead concentrating on the emotional battle between two individuals. For such character studies to work, strong performances are required from the leading roles and whilst this is not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, both Sutherland and Nelligan lift it above the mediocre dramas that litter the 1980s. Sutherland again works to his strengths, playing his character in an understated but assured manner and Nelligan (who looks fantastic here) is convincing as an emotional battered woman forced to dig deep into her reserves when the time comes.

Criticism could be levelled at some lightweight plotting and on more than one occassion the viewer has to swallow some rather unbelievable sequence of events. The low budget also at times hampers some of the dramatic scenes of the film (in particular the storm segments) but that said the director is able to create a geniune sense of tension and the addition of some blood letting gives the proceedings an extra little kick.

Overall this is an interesting little thriller that takes its cues from the likes of Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" and Chabrol's "Le Boucher". Whilst it doesn't quite pack the punch of those two titles, it is an enjoyable piece of entertainment in its own right. Recommended.