White Of The Eye

Edinburgh-born Donald Cammell is perhaps best known for writing and co-directing the cult movie Performance, before taking his own life in 1996. He made only a handful of films, with the 1987 Brit thriller White Of The Eye almost as complex, as visual, and occasionally as bewildering as Performance.

Set in Arizona, USA, the story kicks into action when a wealthy lady is brutally murdered while setting the table in her kitchen and chatting to her friend on the phone. The killer seemingly comes out of nowhere and we only see the white of his eye. The act of murder is filmed deliberately slow, with objects crashing and food falling as if the resulting chaos is meant to look like a work of art. We also learn that this is the latest in a string of murders committed by apparently the same serial killer.
Next we are introduced to Paul White (David Keith), a charismatic but disturbed young man who adores opera, and loves his wife Joan (Cathy Moriarty) and their anti-social daughter in equal measure. Paul works as a highly qualified engineer installing hi-fi and TV equipment in the homes of the rich and super-wealthy… which is why Detective Mendoza (Art Evans) soon suspects Paul to be involved in the killings. Joan, meanwhile, is convinced that her hubby is innocent.

In between domestic scenes and murders, director Cammell uses flashbacks to reveal how Paul met his sassy wife… He ‘stole’ her from then-lover Mike DeSantos (Alan Rosenberg), an eccentric half-blood with a fondness for cheesy 80’s pop and guns. In a re-told sequence, a chance encounter brings the odd couple and Mike together, though it quickly becomes apparent that both men possess somewhat of a temper… In another flashback scene we see the two men embarking on a hunting trip, when the frenzied Paul not only mutilates the dead deer but smears his face with the animal’s blood. From that point it becomes crystal clear that Paul is several wires short of a full sound system. Mike, meanwhile, makes his exit fast – that is to say he leaves his girlfriend to Paul.

Fast-forward again, and the seemingly happy marriage between Joan and Paul turns sour when she finds out he’s having an affair. But that’s not all, for she also discovers, by sheer coincidence, some dismembered and wrapped body parts of the murder victims in the bathroom crawlspace. When she confronts Paul, he begins to ramble about black holes, Native American lore, the universe being female, and him being the chosen one to end it all. Joan does what anyone would do in such situation: run and lock herself in the attic. At that stage Paul has lost it completely and re-appears dressed like a tribal warrior; face painted blood-red and ammunition around his waist. Having failed to shoot the daughter, he’s now hell-bent on taking his beloved Joan with him into the next life. Miraculously, she too manages to escape in her car, though minutes later Joe chases after her in his own car. The race through the desert leads to the ultra brutal and explosive finale, during which former lover Mike re-appears…

Cammell presents the Arizona desert landscape as if it were a surreal painting, dipped in vivid colours, while the rocks display cracks as deep as that of Joan’s and Paul’s marriage. At times it feels as if a brooding Lynch-ian nightmare comes to life, interspersed with sudden moments of Giallo style terror. The constant flashback sequences can appear a little irritating at first, though ultimately they help establishing the characters and their stories.
The acting ought to be mentioned too, and you’ll be glad to know that it is convincing and impressive throughout – in particular David Keith’s transformation from disturbed to completely unhinged echoes moments from The Shining and Jagged Edge.
The atmosphere is further enhanced by an eclectic score courtesy of Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason.

This Dual Format Blu-ray + DVD and Steelbook release comes with amazing SPECIAL FEATURES, out of which the insightful feature-length (73min) docu ‘Donald Cammell: The Ultimate Performance’ (1998) makes for a particular shiny gem.
Other special features include:

• Commentary by Donald Cammell's biographer Sam Umland
• Donald Cammell's short The Argument (1972) with an optional commentary by Sam Umland
• Into the White - an interview with co-cinematographer and Steadicam wizard Larry McConkey
• Deleted scenes, with an optional commentary by Sam Umland
• Flashback scenes before the bleach bypass process was applied
• Original opening credits featuring John Diehl, an actor cut from the final film
• Theatrical trailer
• Reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork by Nathanael Marsh
• Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Brad Stevens and Sam Umland