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Blindness: The review
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Blindness/2008/Miramax
Directed by: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Don McKellar, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover, Alice Braga, and the fantastic Muary Chaykin
The Plot- In a nameless city a group of nameless people are stricken by a plague of infectious "white-blindness". When the powers that be decide that the only solution to stop the spread of contagion is to quarantine everyone carrying the disease inside an insane asylum, they must not only learn to live without sight, but recreate a new society to either benefit themselves or destroy the last bit of humanity left in them. Things go south quickly when they realize that the outside world has abandoned them, and they are left to the mercy and cruelties of their own kind...
The Good- On this one I'm the much-dreaded "I read the book" guy. The whiny, p!ssy, pedantic who will compulsively point out everything left out of the film version, criticize the Director for his angle on the story, and warn anyone away from the film who is within earshot. Or even worse, I'll be totally in love with the film version, exclaim to the world that the greatest film adaptation of an award winning novel by a Nobel prize winning author has finally arrived, (in this case I believe it did) and set everyone who never read Saramago's outstanding book up for 140 minutes of boredom and dumbfounded hostility that they were duped so easily by a bookworm with a seriously handicapped analysis on a film he happened to read the book for.
So it's pretty much lose-lose from where I'm standing.
For anyone else who's ever read Jose Saramago's novel, I do believe this film does the written work justice. I'll also honestly admit that this is one of the better film adaptations I've ever seen. Fernando Meirelles, (City of God, The Constant Gardner) totally nails the tone of the novel. The cast is pitch-perfect, especially Julianne Moore who is pretty much given this drama-heavy slab of a film to haul entirely on her freckled shoulders. She pulls off the feat with all the grace and skill she's come to be known for. Mark Ruffalo is equally great playing her blind husband, and leader of the Ward One residents, but I need to throw a shout-out to Muary Chaykin (he's the "I've just p!ssed myself, and there's nothing you or anyone can do about it..." Captain that Costner meets on his way to the frontier in Dances with Wolves) who once again delivers a big package of "Weirdo" like no one else in the business can. If Muary doesn't make your skin crawl in this film, I believe that nothing else will.
Last on The Good side of the border I just want to point out what a great, moving portrait of humanity and de-humanity this film is. If you need a big dose of film-drama this Fall Blindness should deliver the kick. It's a shame that... Well, we'll save that bit for later... For The Ugly I'm afraid...
The Bad- The really bad thing about this film is that it remains true to the novel. The human soul is dethroned, deflowered, and almost completely destroyed before we find one single ounce of rejuvenation. Blindness is not an easy film to watch. Humanity is stripped down to it's ugliest drivers in this film. Fernando Meirelles never once shies away from putting it all on-screen. Folks with weaker stomachs might not want to see this.
The Ugly- On to The Ugly... Why is this film on super-max lock-down release Miramax? And what gives with the ad campaign? You've got a best-selling novel adaptation that's actually worthy of it's subject and nobody even knows it's in theaters. Of course the critical response hasn't been so hot for the film, but those people move in schools, constantly wondering what each other will think if they stand-up for a film not unanimously voted for... But still, this is one of the worst releases for a film in recent memory. I remember this same exact thing happening with The Shawshank Redemption. No real release, no critical praise... Maybe Blindness will find it's audience in the home market.
The Verdict- I might go all DVD Box Cover Quotes on this one and say that Blindness is "Compelling!" or "Raw and unforgiving!" or even a "Triumph of the human spirit" because for once a film might actually be worth the Toronto Star Super-Sized Praise tossed toward it. But I won't. I'll just say that I really, really got into this film. It was brutal, sure it was, but it was equally touching and thoughtful. Any fan of the novel will be happy with this movie. Fernando Meirelles is the real deal. He's a Director who knows exactly what movie he's crafting, and with Blindness he really understood the momentum and tone of the book. I encourage you to be a bit risky with this film and go see it, you may be surprised at what a great movie you might find here, where no one else was even looking for one.
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