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More than any other emotion, Eye of the Dolphin made me
feel anger. This was not because of the film’s content—it’s a
pretty inoffensive motion picture all around—but because of its
exploitation of a great lead performance. As the film’s
protagonist, troubled-teen Alyssa, Carly Schroeder is a
revelation. She hits all of the right notes as a rebellious girl
who flounders through high school after the loss of her mother,
only to be shocked when she is one day informed by her
grandmother that her long-lost father isn’t dead, as she had
been told for all her life. The rest of the movie, however,
doesn’t measure up to the quality of Schroeder’s work: it’s
dull, formulaic, and lacking in visual style. The experience
feels nearly ironic because of this sad truth; the out-of-place
greatness of the performance lends itself more to the viewer’s
frustration than it does their admiration. Even when Alyssa and
Grandma travel to the Bahamas, where her dad is a dolphin
researcher, the movie never really finds its rhythm. Had Eye
of the Dolphin been more effective on the whole, critics
would be comparing Schroeder’s work to Keisha Castle-Hughes’
Oscar-nominated turn in 2002’s Whale Rider. As it is, the
movie is merely a tired entry in a tired genre with a
somewhat-redeeming lead performance.
-Danny Baldwin,
Bucket Reviews
Review Published
on: 8.29.2007
Eye of the Dolphin is rated PG-13 and
runs 100 minutes.
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