Not far from Monte Carlo on the Côte d'Azur of Southern France lies the picturesque town of Eze. The name of Eze was one of the small details that were rolled into the combination romance and thriller called "Blind." The action of the film is triangulated around the strange relationship of a blind author and teacher of creative writing; a cruel, ruthless, and crooked entrepreneur; and the businessman's wife, who was at one point drawn into the shallow yet adrenaline-pumping lifestyle of her husband. But her world changes when she is introduced to the creative writer who has compensated for his blindness by being attentive to his other senses and to the intuitive side of his fellow human beings.
At one point in the film, the blind author Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin) recognizes the scent of the perfume of Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore) as Muguet Des Bois, and her reaction is significant. This is an unusual moment when someone has complimented her on one of her personal choices. The moment is especially poignant to Suzanne when she discovers that her husband Mark (Dylan McDermott) has been unfaithful to her and has given the lover the gift of Chanel No. 5. Mark probably never even knew what was Suzanne's favorite perfume.
Baldwin, Moore, and McDermott are all excellent in their respective roles. The film is especially strong in the details, such as the title of Bill's next book ("Nothing Left to Win or Lose") that sums up the position he has adopted after he lost his eyesight in the auto accident that took the life of his wife.
One weakness of the film was in its less-than-scintillating dialogue that was clearly a stretch for the actors to perform with credibility or even a straight face. When the jealous Mark complains to Suzanne about her relationship with Bill, he waxes poetic in suggesting that "Bill is a short story; I'm your novel." Woof! Lines like that one did not sound like they were coming from the boy from Far Rockaway who pulled himself by his bootstraps to become "Mr. Dutchman."
The film was on much firmer footing with the broader strokes of character transformation, especially in the change that occurs in Suzanne. In her budding relationship with the blind author, it appears for the first time in her life that she has made contact with a person who recognizes her inner, fragile qualities and ultimately treats her as an equal, as opposed to an object. In the process, she comes to radiate the special wisps of sunlight that fall on the seascape of Eze.
At one point in the film, the blind author Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin) recognizes the scent of the perfume of Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore) as Muguet Des Bois, and her reaction is significant. This is an unusual moment when someone has complimented her on one of her personal choices. The moment is especially poignant to Suzanne when she discovers that her husband Mark (Dylan McDermott) has been unfaithful to her and has given the lover the gift of Chanel No. 5. Mark probably never even knew what was Suzanne's favorite perfume.
Baldwin, Moore, and McDermott are all excellent in their respective roles. The film is especially strong in the details, such as the title of Bill's next book ("Nothing Left to Win or Lose") that sums up the position he has adopted after he lost his eyesight in the auto accident that took the life of his wife.
One weakness of the film was in its less-than-scintillating dialogue that was clearly a stretch for the actors to perform with credibility or even a straight face. When the jealous Mark complains to Suzanne about her relationship with Bill, he waxes poetic in suggesting that "Bill is a short story; I'm your novel." Woof! Lines like that one did not sound like they were coming from the boy from Far Rockaway who pulled himself by his bootstraps to become "Mr. Dutchman."
The film was on much firmer footing with the broader strokes of character transformation, especially in the change that occurs in Suzanne. In her budding relationship with the blind author, it appears for the first time in her life that she has made contact with a person who recognizes her inner, fragile qualities and ultimately treats her as an equal, as opposed to an object. In the process, she comes to radiate the special wisps of sunlight that fall on the seascape of Eze.