Angel Eyes is a 2001 drama film directed by Luis Mandoki and stars Jennifer Lopez, Jim Caviezel, and Jeremy Sisto.
The plot involves a tough Chicago police officer, Sharon Pogue (Lopez) who is dealing with many issues from her life and past, including her abusive childhood and recently having her father arrested for a domestic disturbance between him and her mother as well as their upcoming renewal of their wedding vows. One day, she meets up with a man only known as "Catch" (Caviezel). They soon hit it off, but it becomes apparent that there's more to him than meets the eye...
This film provides examples of the following tropes:
- Abusive Parent: Sharon and her brother Larry's father, Carl, was abusive to them and their mother, Josephine.
- Bait-and-Switch: While at her parents' wedding reception, Sharon begins to tell a tale on camera about how as small children, she and her brother were pretending to be space cadets and her father burst in to ask what they were doing interrupting him. As she explained, he yelled back, "I'll show you some "space cadets!", and began to play along with them and say how much fun it was for the three of them. She admitted to this story, but based on her reaction and how much she holds back her tears, it was more likely changed to spare their feelings of what really happened.
- Bittersweet Ending: Catch, or rather Steven Lambert, was able to come to terms with the loss of his wife and son and finally visit their graves and move on with Sharon, but Sharon is still estranged from her family.
- Broken Bird: Sharon, very much, having to deal with her abusive childhood and estrangement due to arresting her father for nearly killing her mother.
- Cool Old Lady: Catch's mother-in-law, who is still in close contact with him and who supports the relationship between him and Sharon. She also misses her daughter and grandson terribly and often looks at their photos, but has the foresight and compassion to hide them whenever he comes over because she knows how painful it is for him still.
- Cope by Pretending: Catch goes through life this way to keep himself from dealing with the deaths of his wife and son the year before. He even sheds his real name, Steven Lambert, and cuts off all ties to his former life, save for visiting his mother-in-law.
- Cut Himself Shaving: After Sharon belts Larry in the face for assaulting his wife and insulting her, he complains to her fellow officers, only for them to dismiss him as tripping and falling on his own.
- Domestic Abuse: In addition to him abusing his children, Sharon's father also beats her mother. A most recent episode of this lead to her having him arrested and the family effectively turning their backs on her. Worse, later in the film it appears that her brother Larry following in his footsteps, having begun to beat his own wife.
- Empty Bedroom Grieving: More like empty house grieving; after the car accident that took Catch's wife and son, Sharon eventually tracks down his former home, having long since abandoned by him in his grief.
- Hidden Depths: Even with knowing little about him or his life, Catch walks into a club with Sharon and begins to expertly play the trumpet with the house band. Unfortunately, this also causes him past to become known as one of the club's managers recognized him and called him by his real name, Steven Lambert.
- The Lad-ette: Sharon is implied to be this, being more of one of the guys among her fellow officers than a girlish girl. She can handle herself in a fight and can easily manhandle suspects twice her size.
- Mess of Woe: Sharon encounters Steven "Catch" Lambert's former residence and discovers a beautiful and well-furnished home completely abandoned with no working lights, layers of dust covering everything and his son's birthday cake and other memorabilia left to mold on the kitchen table.
- Survivor's Guilt: Catch has shades of this for being the lone survivor in the car accident that killed his wife and son.
- Tragic Keepsake: Catch keeps a drawer filled with his deceased son's action figures. He eventually gives them to his young neighbor, leaving them in a large box outside of his apartment.
