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By AMY MYERS-PAYNE
What would happen if you were the only eye witness for a murder investigation
but you were legally blind? In the 1994 thriller "Blink," director Michael Apted
places Emma Brody (Madeleine Stowe), a violin player who's recently undergone
surgery to restore her sight, in that very situation. And it poses some
interesting dilemmas -- not the least of which is how she and a smart-mouthed
detective (Aidan Quinn) are going to catch the murderer.
The story unfolds with Emma waiting for a cornea donor, 20 years after her
abusive mother slammed her head into a mirror causing her to lose her vision.
Suddenly, she gets a call from her doctor -- they've found a donor. She needs to
go under the knife immediately. Then, presto, she can see.
Well, not exactly. During the healing process Emma's vision lacks, among other
things, depth perception. And it's with this problem that Apted really shows his
talent. He does an excellent job manipulating camera angles and relying on
special effects to give audiences an idea of how Emma sees the world.
A few days after surgery, Emma is alone in her apartment late one evening. When
she hears noises out in the hall, she opens the door and sees an obscured
figure. The next day, rather unexpectedly, she sees a crystal clear flash of the
man's face. Oh yes, her doctor had warned her she may suffer from "delayed
reality perception." But little does Emma know that the face she sees over and
over again in her mind is the face of a murderer. And it's not until she teams
up with the detective that the story really takes off. As Emma and John begin to
cozy up to each other, the killer gets closer and closer to his ultimate goal:
kill Emma before she can identify him.
The screenplay, written by Dana Stevens, while often formulaic, is effectively
clever and exciting. It's also spiced with humor. Beyond the murder
investigation, it sets up other interesting dilemmas: Emma's difficulty in
grasping concepts sighted people take for granted, such as what it means to be
beautiful. And more intriguingly, you get a sense that her life was fairly
normal when she was completely blind. It's only now that she's regained her
sight that things start to become chaotic.
But no doubt about it, this film is a thriller. It delivers a suspenseful and nerve
racking experience. The score is masterfully integrated, which adds to the
excitement. Both Stowe and Quinn give credible performances and they work very
well together; their on-screen chemistry reaches the boiling point during
several scenes. There are only a few minor glitches, but they're forgivable
given the film's solid foundation and interesting plot twists. This one is worth
taking a look at.
The DVD box incorrectly identifies the aspect
ratio as 1.85:1, when it is 2.35:1. The image is
fine, and the 5.1 Dolby soundtrack is surprisingly
vigorous. Apart from the theatrical trailer there
are no other extras. |
