Blind

21 Replies

Alec Baldwin plays Bill, a writer and English professor who lost his sight and his wife in a terrible accident. Demi Moore plays Suzanne, the woman sentenced to read aloud to him. Sentenced in a court of law, by the way, by a judge who finds her guilty by association of the insider trading perpetrated by her husband (Dylan McDermott). Although Bill is cantankerous and spends his first encounter with Suzanne boldly insulting her, the two form a predictable romantic relationship.

But then BAZINGA! – the felonious Dylan McDermott is released from prison on a nasty technicality and Suzanne is faced with the age-old question that beleaguers only the women of a certain set: stay with the man who funds her lifestyle, or leave with the man hero_Blind-2017she actually loves. Oh to be rich and luxuriously useless!

If Blind was a martini, I’d send it back. The verdict: too weak. The writing ranges from bland to cheesy to downright embarrassing. It’s also not strong enough to write a character that we can distinguish from the real-life Alec Baldwin. Neither is Baldwin up to losing himself in a character. Bill’s epic rants are a little too familiar to anyone who has access to the internet, or late night television. But those are the only facets of the character that ring true; Bill’s conflicted, tragic side is limp, unfulfilled. Not to worry, though: in choosing Demi Moore to play opposite, the film has at least assured that no one will show Baldwin up. I’m not sure if Moore was ever capable of any great heights as an actress, but these days playing a wealthy socialite seems beyond her reach, even though I think that’s pretty much who she plays outside of work, all the time. Perhaps her ability to act began to dissipate around the time she lost the ability to move her face. Too many injections later, she can’t communicate anything beyond complete and utter passivity, which is inadequate for a woman wrongly accused, full of contempt, about to embark on a passionate affair after finding out her marriage is built upon lies and infidelity. Demi Moore: blank stare.

When you pair a man who is constantly dialed up to 10 with a woman who can barely achieve a 1.8, it makes for a strange combination. It’s hard to know whether to believe the love story being told in lifeless, monotone words, or the pained expressions on their faces that say otherwise. This melodrama is better suited to the Hallmark channel.

21 thoughts on “Blind”

  4. Katrina Morrison

    It is too bad because the storyline actually sounds interesting. Not enough angst expressions or other wise great acting to make this film fly or even be relatable to most of the audience. Great review Jay. We can always depend on you😊

    Like

    Reply ↓
  8. Sarca

    As someone who works with the blind…I think I would be critical of Alec Baldwin’s “acting blind” too. I watched the trailer, and although I don’t know details about his injury, my first critique is he stares straight-on all the time. Few blind people I know stare at a fixed point all the time naturally…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓
    1. Jay Post author

      I think in the film he can see …shapes? So not completely blind. But it’s a fair guess that he did absolutely no research. I was also appalled watching Demi Moore blind herself to “see what he sees.” This is romance????

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓
  11. J.

    Haha. Amazing. I kinda want to see this… it’s like a reboot of Scent of a Woman with Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore. And with a different story. So nothing like that at all.

    I watched a Demi Moore flick recently (The Joneses) and thought “good grief “.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  13. Pingback: Blind – SEO

Leave a comment