At First Sight Review
by Michael Redman (redman AT indepen DOT com)January 28th, 1999
Sight but not much insight
At First Sight
A Film Review By Michael Redman
Copyright 1999 By Michael Redman
**1/2 (Out of ****)
It must be an overwhelming shock to suddenly awaken one day with an entirely new view of life. Previously comfortable in our old perceptions and way of being, the new vision shatters our old world and the new one is an surrealistic landscape.
Metaphors aside, massage therapist Virgil Adamson (Val Kilmer) experiences this — literally. Once blind, now he sees and he's not sure he likes it much.
Virgil, blind since childhood, works in a spa in a small New York town and his life isn't too bad. He takes a bus to work. His sister fixes his dinner. He has memorized his home so he gets around easily. Then his life is turned upside down when he meets Amy Benic (Mira Sorvino).
Overworked NYC architect Amy takes a break at the spa and meets Virgil's tender touch. After a couple sensual encounters, they fall in love. Back in the city, Amy researches the web and discovers a possible cure for his condition.
Kilmer is credible as a blind man and again demonstrates his increasing acting skills. Although she has turned in commendable performances in the past, Sorvino is less successful. Nathan Lane's small role as a sight therapist is the most human one in the move. Unfortunately we only see a few minutes of him.
When Virgil regains his sight, he can't deal with the new sensations bombarding his life. Infants learn to visually relate to their surroundings gradually. Virgil gets it all at once. He doesn't understand perspective and depth perception. When he sees himself in a mirror, he starts a conversation. He thinks a picture of an apple _is_ an apple. City streets are perplexing.
If the film had concentrated on Virgil's struggle with his new vision, it would be more absorbing. Instead it's a love story. Admittedly Virgil and Amy's early scenes seem like they could lead to something, but when they become a couple they turn into aliens. The massage between strangers is more erotic than their love-making. After Virgil can see, their relationship painfully lacks chemistry. The ending is easily foreseen.
Although the movie is based on a true story, director Irwin Winkler has concentrated on the least interesting aspects. Creating a movie about sight, he shows little insight.
(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and thinks he's going to go out and look at some stuff. Email your visions to [email protected].)
[This appeared in the Jan. 28, 1999 "Bloomington Indpependent", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at [email protected]]
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