Originating in the 70s, and ongoing in parts of the world today, were constant studies on neuro-linguistic programming (NLP)as an alternative to psychotherapy based on studies of language, communications and personal change. One aspect of these studies dealt with identifying if there were any visual cues taken from a person’s eyes to ascertain whether or not the old adage, ‘the eyes may be a window to the soul’ is valid. Researchers studying NLP set out to determine if eye movements could indicate visual and auditory components of thought associated with a movement. For example, they believed that the direction the person moved their eye(s), could determine how their mind was processing thought. They discovered six different types of thought process:

Visually Constructed Images; a person tried to construct an image of something that they had never witnessed based on a firsthand account.

Visually Remembered Images; recounting an image that they remember vividly.

Auditory Constructed; when a person attempts to create a sound that they have never heard.

Auditory Remembered; a person remembering a very familiar sound.

Feeling/Kinesthetic; a person thinking about a smell, physical feel, or a distinct taste.

Internal Dialogue; the movement of the eye when someone is talking to themselves.

Though much research in this area exists and some results in support of these links between physical cues and thought processes have been obtained,  it has never been fully substaintiated, and is generally regarded as nothing more than theory.

Without being able to express truth and deceit with eye movement  alone, some filmmakers and artists have had to rely on the physical depiction of the human eye, and surrounding peripheral facial features.

In the film Renaissance, graphic techniques are used to render the eyes of certain characters to make them appear as honest or untrustworthy in nature. Three major characters in the film have been rendered with more realistic eye features. Their pupils, eyelashes, and surrounding features have been over detailed, in trying to make them appear more human, allowing the audience to feel connected, or better identify with these characters.

In contrast, the more deceitful characters has been given an oversimplified eye. This style makes the person appear less human like in form, yielding a much more cartoonish figure. The person no longer appears human and thus we can no longer identify with them leading to a loss of trust.

Sin City takes a different approach in revealing the true nature of each character within the major players in the film. A sense of realism is found is found in the characters that eventually  learn not to trust; they all have colour to their eyes, while the rest of the cast has a simple black and white appearance. The customer’s eyes are green, Cardinal Roark’s eyes are grey, Becky’s eyes are blue, and Manute’s one eye is gold. We are not given an in-depth back-story for these characters, but as the film develops their eyes alone reveal the nature of their character. We as the audience, notice a pattern, and learn not to trust those with that sense of realism in their eyes.

As well, the film attempts to display the eyes as that ‘window into the soul’. Staring hard into the eyes of some characters, we discover what drives them, what keeps them alive. Marv and Hartigan are two characters that embody this quality. As Marv finally submits to the hand of death, the camera penetrates into his eye, only to reveal his final thoughts. The image of he and Goldie lying, together, on a heart shaped bed is burned into his mind. Hartigan comes to terms with his impending death, and as the camera fades to black, we are led to assume that he has met his end. Only unexpectedly the camera flashes back, focusing on Hartigan’s eye. He does not give in, he continues to fight, continues to live. A promise he made to a girl, and his love for her, is what is driving him, what gives him reason to carry on. The eye is this gateway into the hearts of these men. The eye reveals their love for another. It reveals a force powerful enough to bring them back from the brink of death, and it displays a force strong enough to make them kill, for love, for responsibility, for justice.