Blindness Comes to DVD on February 10 - a Review
A DVD Review of "Blindness" with Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo
Based on the novel by Nobel Laureate José Saramago, Blindness is listed as a Drama/Mystery/Romance/Thriller on IMDB (1). However, Blindness is not much of a thriller, definitely not a romance, and not even a mystery other than what causes the blindness. Blindness is somewhat dramatic, but not very entertaining. This is the kind of film that gets critical acclaim but doesn't impress its audience. Blindness, was in fact, nominated for the 2008 Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It doesn't win any awards in my book however.
The Blindness story begins when one man suddenly becomes blind for no apparent reason. His wife takes him to see a doctor (Mark Ruffalo), and within 24 hours, the doctor, the patient's wife, and everyone in the doctor's office are all blind. The doctor's wife (Julianne Moore) never becomes blind, but she feigns blindness to go into quarantine with her husband when health authorities round up all the victims.
Soon the couple finds themselves virtually imprisoned with the doctor's patient and other blind inmates in a facility with three wards. As more and more people are quarantined with "the white blindness," the facility grows quickly crowded, filthy, and competitive. When one ward of the more powerful inmates takes over the facility and demands the other inmates pay them for the food supplies, a war breaks out between the wards.
Where were the authorities, you might ask? That is one of the many questions left irritatingly unanswered in Blindness.
As the only person who can see, the doctor's wife must care for the people around her and protect them from the more unscrupulous and violent inmates. The takeover by the more brutal inmates forces the doctor's wife into taking extreme measure to protect her people.
The victims eventually escape back into the city to find a world in chaos where it appears everyone who is left is probably blind. Dull, dismal, tedious and artsy scenes follow one after the other. People tottering around in groups, scavenging for food, smiling up into the rain, fighting over food, dogs eating bodies, images of white blindness lead Blindness to its trite conclusion.
If the plot had been more developed and fleshed out and less artsy (I almost wished for blindness every time the screen showed the tedious image of what "white blindness" looked like to its victims), Blindness might have been a good movie, but it is a weak movie with a weaker ending. Julianne Moore gives a good performance, but I just can't in good conscience recommend Blindness. Violence, rape, nudity, and many unanswered questions make the plot weak and the movie depressing.
BONUS FEATURES
"A Vision of Blindness" - making of the movie documentary
Deleted Scenes
120 minutes
Rated: USA: R (Violence Including Sexual Assaults, Language And Sexuality/Nudity)
Subtitles: English and Spanish
SOURCES
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Published by Kathryn E. Darden
An author, poet, publisher, publicist & skincare consultant, I have written for publications including CCM Magazine, The Tennessean, Barbie Bazaar Magazine, Christian Activities & several local newspapers.... View profile
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11 Comments
Post a Comment"Blindness" does not sound like a movie I would want to see!
A very well written piece.
OK, can't watch this one. I would have nightmares of going blind all night long! (Hey! I'm impressionable, OK?)
never heard of this, great job!
I have the book,... have not as of yet read it
Nice film review. I have not seen BLINDNESS yet.
Great review. I was actually getting into the plot you wrote.. but since you said it really wasn't all that good maybe I'll pass.
Like Sheryl, I've never heard of this either. Thanks for the review.
I hadn't heard of this or seen previews yet, but big Mark Ruffalo fan.
The previews looked interesting, but I thought the plot seemed thin. I probably wouldn't watch it anyway, but thanks for the review - it helped make up my mind!