Angel Eyes

Not the cheaply manipulative woman-in-peril thriller it appears to be in TV ads and trailers (but then it would be hard to sell an emotionally layered, grown-up drama about two battered souls building a blossoming but tentative relationship in 30 seconds), Angel Eyes is a fulfilling surprise from start to finish. Jennifer Lopez, in her best performance since Out of Sight, stars as a tough Chicago beat cop who is saved from a violent death by an enigmatic, unstable stranger (Jim Caviezel, Frequency). Turns out she saved his life after a terrible traffic accident a year before, and that's no coincidence, but is he obsessed or just grateful? Caviezel and Lopez--who has 100-percent credibility both in her toughness and in her vulnerability--both give wonderfully complex performances as each comes to terms with traumatic memories while cautiously learning to open up to the other. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)