The Eye

The Eye has quietly become one of the more dependable crime dramas currently available in Australia on Netflix, and in the US on Amazon Prime Video and Philo. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 1,165 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Jessica Alba's performance alone is worth the time investment. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, The Eye earns its spot. The plotting gives The Eye its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. Violinist Sydney Wells was accidentally blinded by her sister Helen when she was five years old. She submits to a cornea transplantation, and while recovering from the operation, she realizes that she is seeing dead people. Jessica Alba and Alessandro Nivola lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2008. The Eye is at its best in the quiet scenes between the plot beats, where the character work actually happens. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find The Eye proves them wrong. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. A contained runtime means every scene is doing real work. Watch Jessica Alba work — it is a masterclass in the genre. Few crime dramas earn their twists this consistently.