The big picture
- Donald Sutherland plays Henry Faber, a Nazi spy, in the thriller
Eye of the needle
. - Donald Sutherland's creepy performance in the film also influenced his role as President Snow
The Hunger Games
series - Despite not being a well-known WWII film,
Eye of the needle
showcases Richard Marquand's suspenseful direction and Sutherland's dark portrayal.
Deadly movie spies are very skilled at killing and hiding, but when it comes to their loyalties, they can be either patriotic or shady. But have you heard of Henry Faber? Portrayed by Donald SutherlandFaber is a Nazi spy Eye of the needle (1981) who is about to complete a mission that could change the course of World War II. It was released the year after Sutherland's Oscar for his devastating performance Street people. But if audiences were expecting an equally compassionate performance, they would be wrong.
Henry Faber is one of Sutherland's darkest roles, and even inspired him for his villainous role in The Hunger Games series But Eye of the needle occupies a memorable place not only in the career of its lead actor, but also in its director. Richard Marquand must lead Return of the Jedi (1983) for his ability to handle suspenseful moments like those he created in his 1981 thriller. Like Henry Faber's obscurity among the screen's best-known spies, Marquand and Sutherland's film does not it is as famous as other World War II films. And even if it doesn't take place on the battlefield, it's just as brutal when the fate of the world is threatened by a spy who has no regard for human life.
What is the “Eye of the Needle” about?
Set in the UK during a critical moment in World War II, a German sleeper agent's cover is blown. Henry Faber can no longer go unnoticed, but he stays one step ahead of the government agents chasing him. He becomes even more dangerous when he gathers secret information about the D-Day invasion that, if given to his superiors, will expose a covert Allied plan. Faber needs to take the information to Germany, but on his way to meet a submarine, he gets stranded on a rocky island that is home to a strange couple.
Although an unexpected romance grows between Faber and the deeply unhappy Lucy (Kate Nelligan), there is no hope of seeing the spy's allegiance change. He will complete his mission by killing anyone who stands in his way. Based on the spy thriller novel by Ken Follettyou don't want to see him win, but you can't help but be amazed at how expertly he evades capture in the first hour of Eye of the needle. His code name, “the needle”, comes from the stiletto dagger with which he impales the unfortunate who understand his secret. At the beginning of the film, Henry appears to be a modest and patriotic British citizen, until his dark side emerges.
Henry Faber is a spy on the run
A friendly innkeeper makes the mistake of walking in on Faber while he's sending a message over his shortwave radio. His response is quick as she goes from confusion to panic. He closes the door, draws his blade and stabs her with a fatal blow. It won't be the last to go down; Others who meet their end at the end of the needle include a German agent who is about to be caught, a couple of suspicious military men and a nervous soldier. When sailing out to sea to be picked up by a submarine, viewers understand that no one is safe when they approach Henry Faber.
When bad weather leaves him stranded on Storm Island, the Rose family takes him in. David (Christopher Cazenove) is an embittered man, left paralyzed from the waist down by a reckless car accident he caused. This has led to David forcing his family to live on Storm Island, putting them all into isolation due to their self-loathing. His wife Lucy is left to look after their young son as her husband indulges in his daily round of drinking. Faber's arrival then awakens Lucy's life dissatisfaction with being trapped on the rocky island and they start an adventure. But the survival instincts are so intrinsic to him that the Nazi spy does not know how to detach himself from violence.
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As he and Lucy walk along the cliff, the breathtaking view is tainted by the underlying darkness of viewers who know Faber's true colors. When he lies to Lucy about being a writer, he offers little truths about his past. He claims he is currently working on a love story that ends with the man killing the woman he loved because she broke his heart. Sutherland's smile is haunting. Life and death mean little to him. Reading further into the scene, Faber may be revealing what he did to another woman he once loved. Faber's nefarious demeanor was a key trait that Sutherland realized he could use decades later when he joined the cast of The Hunger Games.
“The eye of the needle” scared the neighbors of Donald Sutherland
The actor wrote a letter to the director Gary Ross to show his passionate interest in being elected as President Snow for 2012 The Hunger Games. “Snow's evil manifests itself in the form of the complacent, confident menace ever present in his eyes. His determined stillness,” Sutherland wrote, “Have you seen a movie I made years ago? 'The' eye of the needle'. That fellow had part of what I'm looking for.” His performance was so effective that he added to his letter with amusement how he frightened his neighbors. He recalled a memory of his wife being asked how he “could live with anyone who could play such an evil man. It was a fun dinner or two, but part of my wife is still wondering.
Donald Sutherland gives a venomous performance as Henry Faber, who never seems to lose his cool, despite having to narrowly avoid government agents on their trail. The “resolute stillness” the actor brought up from Faber can be seen in the spy's unflappable demeanor and determination for his mission. The calm presence, and then the speed at which he turns violent, make him a lethal man. There is also another aspect of Faber in Snow. The smile that President Snow gives to his opponents or to Panem is drained of any kindness; the same can be said when Faber smiles for Lucy.
While Sutherland is easily the most famous face to stand out Eye of the needle, the work of director Richard Marquand cannot go unnoticed. The film's best sequences make great use of shot-building and slow-burn tension. The World War II thriller became the film that helped Marquand gain significant attention in the US when George Lucas he chose it to close the original War of the galaxies trilogy In the DVD commentary by Return of the JediLucas explained that he was impressed by the “energy and suspense” he saw Eye of the needlebut the decision would lead to some complications during filming.
Before the Sith, Richard Marquand explored real-world evil with 'Eye of the Needle'
In the document, Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy (2004), Lucas realized he had to be on set more than he thought. Marquand's inexperience in making a film with special effects meant that Lucas helped the director and participated in the second unit of the film to lighten the workload. Still, Lucas had nothing but kind words to share about Marquand. The 1981 World War II thriller may not have had any special effects, but the “energy and suspense” Lucas mentioned is accurate. At the beginning Eye of the needleFaber enters a military base to capture photos that reveal an important part of the Allies' plan for their D-Day invasion.
The camera sees the layout of the landscape before zooming in as Faber crawls under barbed wire and cuts through the fencing. He never rushes, despite the high risk of being caught. You don't know if you should freak out at how calm he is under this pressure, or wonder when the inevitable moment will come when someone notices him. If anyone wants to survive their encounter with Henry Faber, they must fightand it is when the film turns to Storm Island that it begins to risk being defeated.
Violence erupts at the end of 'Eye of the Needle'
When Lucy's husband David finds evidence that Henry is an enemy of the nation, a fight ensues. It's dirty and desperate as each man tries to gain the upper hand, both edging closer to the edge of a cliff until Henry is the victor, but just barely. Henry Faber's efficient kills get messier, culminating in a wild brawl during the third act that pits Lucy and Henry against each other. Lucy realizes two horrible truths: Henry killed David and he is a Nazi spy. As bad weather pours torrential rain on the island, Lucy tries to stay alive and protect her son, doing everything she can to do so. She drives an ax into Henry's hand when he tries to open a door. She attaches metal to an open fuse so he can't use the radio to signal the U-boat, burning his hand in the process.
The film's doomed romance continually puts Henry and Lucy in intimate positions. Their sex scenes are drained of their passion when Lucy has to hide that she knows the truth about Henry and has to pretend to enjoy another night together. The pained expression on his face is a haunting sight. Once Henry notices Lucy's burnt hand at the end, which matches his mutilated one, he suddenly looks exhausted. “The war has touched us both,” he tells her. Eye of the needle puts Donald Sutherland on the other side of World War II, in contrast to his roles where he was eliminating Nazis in The dirty dozen or stealing Nazi gold Kelly's Heroes.
But Donald Sutherland was nothing like Henry Faber, even if his neighbors couldn't tell. He was an exceptional performer who could portray a range of funny, tragic or creepy characters. When he was given an honorary Oscar in 2017, Sutherland mocked himself, saying, “I don't deserve this, but I have arthritis and I don't deserve this either.” As for Marquand, he was interested in returning to the War of the galaxies universe to direct one of the prequels Lucas was planning, but died suddenly at age 49. One of the last films he made was the neo-noir thriller. Serrated edge, trading a Nazi spy and housewife for a high-profile lawyer and his possibly guilty client. With the recent death of Donald Sutherland and the untimely death of Richard Marquand in 1987, Eye of the needle is waiting to be rediscovered.
Eye of the needle it's currently streaming on Tubi in the US
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