Fall is here, the leaves are falling, temperatures are cooling, school is back in session and high-profile filmmakers are releasing new films. These films are also known as prestige pictures, and “Blindness” is a really bad example of a supposedly high-caliber film.
Based on the Portuguese novel of the same name, “Blindness” tells the story of a group of individuals who go blind and are put in a government quarantine facility. The film lists characters only by their identity or description rather than supplying names. At the beginning of the film, the First Blind Man (Yusuke Iseya) is randomly blinded in the middle of traffic. A man known as the Thief (Don McKellar), helps him to his house but also steals his car. The First Blind Man’s Wife (Yoshino Kimura) takes her husband to a specialist, but the Doctor (Mark Ruffalo) cannot find anything wrong with the First Blind Man. Eventually, all the inhabitants of the city become infected, except for one person, the Doctor’s Wife (Julianne Moore). The film continues as these characters are thrust into living together and figuring out how to survive.
While there are strong possibilities and potential for this kind of film, it is almost dead on arrival. To its credit, the film’s visuals and sound design are almost perfect and really are the best parts of the film. Yet writing and acting absolutely kill any hope this film had. The dialogue throughout the film is so simplistic and stereotypical that it seems the writer had no formal training or experience. Not only is the dialogue bad, but the viewer is constantly in a state of confusion about the origins and continuation of the epidemic, as well as the reasons for the Doctor’s Wife’s sight. This is never properly explained and frustrates the viewer. Also, “Blindness” contains some of the stiffest performances seen on the silver screen. There are a few exceptions, namely Moore and Alice Braga, who try their best to salvage poor writing and direction, but even their best attempts cannot save this bomb.
Another major problem includes character choices that are awkward, confusing and downright ridiculous. There are a few brighter moments where some scenes work, but they are few and far between. Most of the film is an incoherent mess, with no pacing to be found. This is especially true of the second act, which results in simply a succession of scenes with no solid narrative direction or foundation. The film truly grates on your senses and some audience members will just want it to end.
The novel from which this film is derived is known to be a deep social commentary on the human condition; this film represents anything but that. This is surprisingly bad especially since the director, Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, is known for bringing us great films like “City of God” and “The Constant Gardener.” Don’t be fooled by the talented filmmaker, all-star international cast and interesting premise. “Blindness” is a waste of time and money. If you are dying to see it, do what you desire, but don’t be surprised if you are extremely disappointed and thoroughly frustrated.
