EYE IN THE SKY

UK, 2016, 102 minutes, Colour.
Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul, Alan Rickman, Jeremy Northam, Barkhad Abdi, Iain Glenn, Phoebe Fox, Aisha Takow, Richard Mc Cabe, Monica Dolan, Michael O' Keefe, Gavan Hood, Laila Robbins.
Directed by Gavan Hood.

It was once thought that God’s eye was in the sky. Nowadays, with satellites in space and with drones and surveillance machinery so readily available, governments and military do have eyes, many eyes, in the sky.

This is a story about a drone strike, the role of the military, politicians in Britain, in the United States, legal advice, the technicians who calculate collateral damage in the case of a strike, intelligence and photo recognition, and the pilot and his associate who pulls the trigger.

Most people probably, give little thought in their everyday lives to the existence of drones, the missions, the dropping of bombs. When they do, it is usually as the result of media headlines, taking out of some terrorist leaders or the sad news of collateral damage of civilians being killed and injured in explosions.

This is where Eye in the Sky takes us, 105 minutes of screen time to give thought to all the implications of drones, strikes and the consequences.

At the opening of the film in Nairobi, we see little girl and her father mending her hulahoop and her playing in the yard (later, as a reminder of the strictness of Somalia’s Al Shebaab, she is told not to play in front of a customer who disapproves of children, playing according to Sharia law). As the little girl appears throughout the film, going up the street to sell loaves of bread that her mother is baking, we appreciate that the question of collateral damage is going to be raised in her regard at least.

The film gives immediate information about the central characters and the places where decisions will be made: at a military base in England, at a conference room in Whitehall, London, in an image recognition centre in Hawaii, local offices for collaboration with Kenyan military authorities and the room in the Nevada desert base where the pilot who will pull the trigger will watch screens and wait for orders.

We are brought up to date with the situation, a British citizen who has married a terrorist and has been radicalised, an American citizen flying in to join the local terrorist cell, the Somalis who are operating in Kenya and antagonistic towards the Kenyan government and its alliance with the UK and the US. When intelligence comes in that these suspects are in the one building, the Colonel in England makes a plan for the capture of the terrorist with British and American passports.

Most audiences will be amazed at the amount of surveillance available, the clarity of the images, the ability to zoom in and out – not just from drones in the sky but from mini-drones, mechanical birds with surveillance eyes and, then, a small mechanical beetle which can fly into rooms and around rooms bringing in extra detail to all those watching in Africa, Britain and the United States.

The screenplay has all those involved in making decisions about the strike tackling all the reasons, for and against, moral decision-making and its being grounded in rational arguments as well as emotional arguments.

The Colonel in charge is played by Helen Mirren who noted that the part was originally written for a male actor but changed for her. She is in contact with a general who goes to Whitehall for decision-making about the strike with the Attorney General, the ministers of the Crown. He is Alan Rickman in one of his final roles, and Jeremy Northam and Richard Mc Cabe as the ministers. Monica Dolan appears as another minister who has strong views about the repercussions of the strike.

The main American is the pilot, Aaron Paul, sitting with his associate in a small hut, unlike a cockpit, at the Nevada base.

Most of the action seems to be playing in real time – or at least it seems that way. The situation inside the targeted house changes dramatically bringing an urgency for a decision to be made as quickly as possible, the Colonel urging immediate action, supported by the general in Whitehall, but complications arise with the opinions of the ministers, the need to contact the Foreign Minister who is in Singapore, contacting the American Secretary of State who is in Beijing, the Prime Minister who is giving a speech in Strasbourg.

In the meantime, the little girl is selling bread at a table-stall outside the wall of the targeted building, bringing that extra dimension of collateral damage into the consideration. And the question: is the death of one little girl in collateral damage to be preferred over the potential for 80 or more people to be killed by suicide bombers in public areas. All sides of the argument are presented with some drama as the local agent, a Somali, who has controlled the beetle in the house, makes an attempt to buy all the bread so that the little girl will go home.

This means that the film is a challenge to moral stances, whether one agrees with the military making the strike decision or those who hesitate, thinking compassionately about collateral damage or weighing up the odds about public opinion if the UK and the US authorise a strike with a consequent death or whether the terrorists, Al Shebaab, will be blamed for greater acts of terror and massacres.

There is a tension throughout the film, more so as the audience begins to weigh up the choices and identify with one or other approach.

In one sense, it may be thought that there is a satisfactory ending, but, on the other hand, not.

1. The impact of the film? Hard issues and decision? 21st century policy? The nature of drones, the eye in the sky? The nature of enemies? Terrorists? The moral challenge to the authorities? The audience stances?

2. The role of terrorists in the 21st century, massacres in cities, police, searching, military, international collaboration, search and destroy?

3. Experience of drones, the targets, accuracy, the issue of collateral damage?

4. The screenplay, words, dialogue, interactions, tension?

5. The strong cast, the women and their political and military roles? Equality with men? The Colonel, the co-pilot, ministers and politics?

6. The introduction to the places with names and times, in the UK, Kenya, in Hawaii, in the US,? Later locations in Singapore, Beijing? The musical score?

7. The introduction to the situation, the Colonel, getting up, checking the computer, constant vigilance? The introduction to the general, his friendship with the Colonel? The pilot in Las Vegas? The US officers, the request, sharing intelligence? The identity expert in Hawaii? The international link-up?

8. The little girl, playing with the hoop, the father with the garage and colours, his work, the mother baking the bread? The authentic location and feel, the interiors of the house, the street, the wall of the stall? The girl playing at home with the hoop – and her father wanting her not to play in front of those who uphold Sharia Law?

9. The situation, the terrorists, the British citizen, the American arriving at the airport, his being welcomed, tracked? The aim of the mission to capture the British woman? The Colonel pursuing the British woman for 6 years? In the house, the surveillance, the drone in the sky, the mechanical bird, the beetle and its ability to go into the house, sitting on the beam? Close-up and detailed knowledge of what was happening? The local terrorists, the British woman, the American, the suicide vests, wearing them, the time limit, the targets, moving from room to room?

10. The situation in Kenya, the military and the authorities, watching, the locals, the van, communication and surveillance? Going to house, the burden the beetle, the iPad? Information, the drone and the battery going, the Somali? His stance? The girl going to sell the bread, the boy and his encounter with her?

11. The Colonel, her experience, strong stances, in the UK, and staff? Attitudes towards terrorists, capturing them, pursuing them? The issue of checking identities and why? The Nevada pilots? The military hawks? The object of urgency and not concerned about more personal nuances? The general, knowledge, communication, the computers, the screens and the politician sharing the view? The issue of legal advice? Damage experts?

12. The damage experts, calculations, 50% collateral damage, the Colonel wanting a lower figure? The pressure on the expert? The documentation?

13. The Colonel watching, the time narrowing, the bombers to leave, the need for the drone strike? The little girl, the hesitations? The contact with the local, getting the boy to go to buy the bread?

14. The Colonel wanting affirmation, from the politicians in London, from the Americans? The dropping of the bomb from the drone? The further bombing? The death of the little girl? The checking of the bodies and identifying them?

15. The General, comments, experience, buying the toy the grandchild, going to Whitehall, the range of ministers, the computers, communication, watching the screen, the role of the Colonel and influence? The military urging interaction? The Foreign Secretary wanting to be patient? Responsibilities and going further up the line? The female minister and her caution?

16. The phone call from the US official, strong words, the fabrication and verification from American authorities? Issues of responsibility and culpability?

17. The pilot, the short time in the military, training? Beginning his term? Chosen for the role? His superior officers, commission, encouragement? Expectations of him, to fire the trigger? His assistant, less experience? Working cameras, the observations, with? Seeing the little girl, the emotional response, the pilot asking for further security checks? The role of the authorities, demands, the final decision, his firing, his response, the emotional effect, the girl injured, searching for the dead? The second drop, the continued search? His being commended by his superior and to take time off?

18. Hawaii, checks and identities?

19. London, the attorney general, the ministers, the nature of the discussions, the authority, the mission, different stances, emotional responses, rational responses, the legal authorisation? The Attorney General and his attention to the law? The minister, having high responsibility, personal, deciding to check with authorities? The woman present, the emotional response, wanting exact legal requirements, the final decision, expressing her discuss to the General? The effect? Her being told off severely by the General?

20. The Foreign Secretary in Singapore, interrupted, his assistants, his being sick, the phone, his listening in to the strike?

21. The Secretary of State, in Beijing, the table tennis, authorising the drop? The presidential support? The phone call from the American authority and her insistence

22. The locals in Kenya, their watching?

23. The building of suspense, the little girl seen throughout the film, selling bread, returning home, the mother baking more, her going to the stall, waiting, the Somali and his attempt to buy the bread, his being chased away, the little boy with the cash, but its being too late?

24. The damage, the little girl, her parents, taking her to the hospital, the medical help, her death?

25. The final question for the film as to where the audience stood on the decision-making, the criteria, and the collateral damage?