Rated R
Running time: 1 hr 58 mins
Cast:
**1/2 out of *****
(37% Fresh Rating!)
Mikey @ The Movies Official Rating:
****1/2 out of *****
The Premise:
A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined and must fight to survive and are led by a woman who is able to see.
MY REVIEW
Blindess is NOT a film for everyone. In fact, I wouldn't recommend it to a lot of people I know. It's a very "harsh" film and crosses some filmaking lines. But the truth of the matter is, Blindess is an incredibly fresh and original film in the lines of Children of Men. A sudden plague of white blindness takes over the entire population of an unknown city. In a way, the movie feels like some apocolyptic, end of the world kind of flick. But done a lot more bravely and with more sophistication then most of us are use to.
The movie's story is very dark. It has moments that a lot of movie goers probably could not stomach. But it does touch on the subject: what would we do if something like this suddenly struck the world? Now I'm sure instant blindness would probably never happen, but that's not the point. Have we grown more civilized over the years? This movie likes to suggest that we have actually downgraded. But I don't think it's that far of a stretch. I mean none of us really know how we would all react to a "plague" or "illness" in this present day world. Who knows, we may turn barbaric. We may do anything we can to survive, even at the expense of other human beings. Blindless touches the "what if?", yet in a more extreme sense.
Blindess looks incredible. It's all very grainy, but oddly has a lot of contrast. Ironic because the movie is in fact about blindness. It's dark but at the same time very vibrant with brightness. It also amplifies sound effects and musical scoring more than a conventional film would. Some movie goers and critics may be turned off by that, but personally I loved it. I loved the score. I thought it was absolutely perfect. I loved the breathtaking cinematography. Everything about the feel of the movie was near perfection in my eyes.
Also brilliant was the lead performance by Oscar nominee Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights, Magnolia). She really did carry the story of the film on her shoulders. I've always been a huge fan, and I believe she is still incredibly underrated. I hope one day her time comes to get some real attention, because she has proven again in Blindness that she is an amazing, brilliant actress. She was superb here. Mark Ruffalo delivers a solid performance as the doctor husband of Moore. The rest of the supporting cast was good for the most part. I wasn't a big fan of Alex Braga, but at least it was an improvement over her performance in Redbelt.
Blindness is a very intense film with a very harsh story to tell. Again, I do not suggest this film to everyone. It has some very graphic moments. But if you are OK with that, I definitely would say see this film!
To view this film's theatrical trailer, click this link: Blindness
*This is the 127th new film I've seen and reviewed this year.
I've heard this film was a bomb at the box office. Do u think this really on the same line with "Children of Men"? Cause I really like that film. If so, maybe this one is worth to have a try.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bomb at the box office for a couple reasons. One, it wasn't well advertised. Two, while the subject matter is interesting, not enough people care about end of the world type movies when there isn't big booms and thousands getting shot and killed. And it's on par with Children of Men in a filmaking sense, not so much story. I mean, there are similarities, but both films have the same look and feel to them.
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