Michael Mailer's Blind is kind of promoted as some sort of suspense thriller with romantic overtones. It's not spoiling to say that (thankfully) this isn't really the case. It's more of a straight drama, with a degree of suspense in some areas, but more of an autumnal romance between leads Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore who are both surprisingly good in their roles, developing a believably strong chemistry together. I ended up liking it better than I expected and really appreciated that it sensibly dialled down the histronics and didn't finish with guns ablazing, which could have easily been the case in the hands of a less discerning director.
It's by no means an outstanding film. For instance the Finding Forrester type sub - plot involving Steven Prescod's character Gavin O'Connor just doesn't really seem to go any where, ending with an ambiguous scene in Baldwin's blind author Bill Oakland's kitchen.
But I liked the interplay and narrative between Baldwin and Moore and Dylan McDermott makes a good villain in Mark Dutchman, the shady businessman/husband of Moore's Suzanne. Blind is one of those movies that could easily have slipped into a derivative, melodramatic flow, but director Mailer deftly avoids this. It was clever of him too, to frame the main storyline almost completely through Suzanne's eyes. So viewers, just like Suzanne, are never quite sure of the extent and overall influence of her husband's actions, which land him in jail and her on a 100 hour community work order, through which she meets Oakland and slowly, inevitably, they are both drawn to one another.
In the end it's a case of old fashioned star power combined with a reasonably engaging storyline that invigorates this ostensible romantic drama. It's worth a look and may well prove surprising to punters. 6.5/10.
It's by no means an outstanding film. For instance the Finding Forrester type sub - plot involving Steven Prescod's character Gavin O'Connor just doesn't really seem to go any where, ending with an ambiguous scene in Baldwin's blind author Bill Oakland's kitchen.
But I liked the interplay and narrative between Baldwin and Moore and Dylan McDermott makes a good villain in Mark Dutchman, the shady businessman/husband of Moore's Suzanne. Blind is one of those movies that could easily have slipped into a derivative, melodramatic flow, but director Mailer deftly avoids this. It was clever of him too, to frame the main storyline almost completely through Suzanne's eyes. So viewers, just like Suzanne, are never quite sure of the extent and overall influence of her husband's actions, which land him in jail and her on a 100 hour community work order, through which she meets Oakland and slowly, inevitably, they are both drawn to one another.
In the end it's a case of old fashioned star power combined with a reasonably engaging storyline that invigorates this ostensible romantic drama. It's worth a look and may well prove surprising to punters. 6.5/10.