Eye for an Eye

"What do you do when justice fails?"

1996 1h 41m EN

😐

6.3

MID

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.2

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 491●25Metacritic★6.2IMDB · 22,660

ThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

It's fire and brimstone time as grieving mother Karen McCann takes justice into her own hands when a kangaroo court in Los Angeles fails to convict Robert Doob, the monster who raped and murdered her 17-year-old daughter.

“What do you do when justice fails?”

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Cast

Sally Field
Karen McCann
Kiefer Sutherland
Robert Doob
Ed Harris
Mack McCann
Beverly D'Angelo
Dolly Green
Charlayne Woodard
Angel Kosinsky
Joe Mantegna
Detective Sergeant Denillo
Olivia Burnette
Julie McCann
Alexandra Kyle
Megan McCann

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Schlesinger
Writers: Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa
Languages: French, English, Spanish, Korean
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

30 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, English, Spanish, Korean.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Schlesinger, shot by Amir Mokri. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland and Ed Harris carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What do you do when justice fails?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0116260 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Schlesinger directs. Amir Mokri behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Peter Honess cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, English, Spanish, Korean.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

130 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 4 languages: French, English, Spanish, Korean.
3Directed by John Schlesinger, shot by Amir Mokri. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Peter Honess shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Sally Field and Kiefer Sutherland and Ed Harris carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What do you do when justice fails?".
8IMDB entry: tt0116260 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Amir Mokri
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Peter Honess
Production design: Stephen Hendrickson
Costume design: Bobbie Read
Makeup / hair: Ann Brodie
Sound: Michael Herbick
Stunt coordinator: Bobby J. Foxworth
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $26,877,589
Return: 134% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Eye for an Eye (1996)
Metacritic: 25/100
IMDB rating: 6.2/10 · 22,660 votes
MPAA: R

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John Schlesinger

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-06-30
★ 6/10
It's odd to see Sally Field with grittier role, and she isn't half bad here as the mother who has to listen on the telephone as her seventeen year old daughter is raped and murdered. "Karen" and husband "Mack" (Ed Harris) are further devastated when an administrative cock-up causes the apprehended assailant to be released on an technicality. Bent on revenge, she learns how to handle herself, and a gun - intent on achieving what the law couldn't. Kiefer Sutherland ("Doob") is the pretty unsavoury man upon who she sets her sights. The premiss of vengeance here ought to have provided for a more robust framework for this drama, but sadly the direction meanders and the film quickly loses the pace is starts with. There is a convincing vulnerability to Miss Field's performance, she plays the desperate mother well. Harris and Sutherland, however, feature far too sparingly with the latter simply failing to inject any menace into the proposition. Though violent at times, it strays all too often into melodrama territory and ends pretty much as you expect right from the outset. Sadly, this is really not much better than a mediocre television thriller that I doubt I will recall next week.

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