[4.75/10] Eyes Wide Open (2009)

Eyes Wide Open (2009)

Short review: Directed by Haim Tabakman, "Eyes Wide Open" is the story of Aaron, played by Zohar Shtrauss, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish butcher in Israel. Enduring a joyless conventional life of work, worship, and family, Aaron slowly comes alive when, played by Ron Danker, a homeless yeshiva student with a checkered, mysterious past, starts working for him and takes up residence at the shop. Director Tabakman focuses first and foremost on the personal drama and never attempts to tackle front-on the moral and religious problems generated by the gay central relationship. But since lust is what really draws his two characters together (love is not in evidence here), and as they are never too concerned with the clash between their faith and their actions, interest in these two individuals sadly runs aground. Aaron’s pangs of conscience, at least concerning his family, are visible, but Ezri seems immune to any internal conflicts. Tabakman's directing is minimalistic and uncreative - for large parts of the film, no clients enter Aaron’s butcher shop; his children rarely feature; the streets are empty and deserted. It all seems unreal, a feeling which is strongly reinforced by the two protagonists, who seem often at loss navigating their parts. Overall, "Eyes Wide Open" is neither the passionate male love story it pretends to be, nor the portrait of a serious moral and religious dilemma it could have been.

• My Ratin: 4.75/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (6.8/10)
• IMDb: 7.3/10