"Blindness" Review - Written by Spalding

M=2; F=3

Director: Fernando Meirelles

Cast: Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Danny Glover

For years now I have made the distinction between movies and films. Most people disagree with the separation, but I’ve always felt it was an appropriate distinction when reviewing a film or movie. For instance, if you are going to see a film you have a much higher expectation for the writing and direction. Whereas if you are going to see a movie, your main goal is to be entertained. You don’t need quality writing, you just need a good time. So when reviewing a film or movie, the distinction is important. Though I may love a silly movie like “Snakes on a Plane,” I am under no delusions that it is a great film. Just as when I see a quality, beautiful film like “2001,” I can’t always say it is the most entertaining of movies (I’ve fallen asleep no less than 5 times while watching it). This brings me to the new film “Blindness.” For all the nasty comments I’ve heard about this film, I can not say I wholly agree or disagree with that negative viewpoint. The reason is because although “Blindness” is not really all that great a movie, it is a fairly well done film.

The story picks up in a metropolitan city where a driver behind the wheel of his car has just been stricken blind. Scared and confused, the man sits behind the wheel while traffic builds up behind him, horns blaring, and people screaming. What follows is basically the story of any epidemic; the man goes forth into the world, infecting those who come into contact with him. There is no explanation of how this particular man was stricken, nor how the disease passed from one person to another. But like all contagions (or zombie movies), it spreads ruthlessly and efficiently. The early cases are quarantined to an abandoned mental asylum where the occupants are left to fend for themselves basically. The basics for survival like food and water are supplied to those inside, but there is no assistance or aid beyond those limited items. Everyone within the walls is blind and practically helpless since they have no guidance in adapting to their blindness. The lone exception is the wife of one of the blinded patients played by Julianne Moore, who is apparently immune to the blindness. She uses her sight to usher the patients trapped in the asylum through their everyday lives. She is their mother and protector, and though she is there by her husband’s side, she is alone in the world.

At its core the movie is an apocalyptic tale of the fall of humanity and the ease with which it collapses on itself (in both small and large scale). We saw this in a limited manner earlier this year in “The Happening.” Though the phenomenon here is just as unexplained and far fetched, “Blindness” definitely scores points for being a much more realistic and emotional take on downfall of society. Whereas “The Happening” came across as more sci-fi than anything, “Blindness” has a more believable feel to it which makes the outcome much more horrifying and haunting.

If that sounds like a rave review, it is not really. There are plenty of problems with this film to be sure. For starters, the film is way too long. At times it became a painful chore to sit through. A few scenes could easily have been lost and a leaner film would have resonated more deeply with the audience. Second, the musical score was a strange mishmash of upbeat music that contrasted severely with the dark scenes unfurling underneath the chirpy harmonica. It almost felt as if the person who scored the film was watching something else entirely when he wrote it out. Third, and perhaps most important, there were large scenes that felt as if Meirelles was trying too hard. Some of the scenes were just too artsy and too art for art’s sake. Meirelles has shown before that he doesn’t need to do any tricks to show his strength as a filmmaker. However, for every well directed scene or shot in here there is one that looks like he is trying to say, “look at me! I’m pretentious as fuck!” And that is a bit of a disappointment. “City of God” is nearly a perfect film and that is not just because of the script or subject matter. No, that film is nearly perfect because Meirelles blended a perfect mix of emotion and cinematic eye into each scene and frame of that film. Here it felt like he was trying to prove that he was some guy who wanted to be that guy who made “City of God.” Meirelles does not need to be more than he is. There is some truly brilliant material in "Blindness," but it kind of gets lost in the 120 minute span of time Meirelles uses to tell this story.

While definitely not for everyone, it is worth a viewing if you can stand to watch a brutal artistic take of man’s struggle for survival and all the ugly and beautiful sides to that battle. However, if you are looking for a movie that entertains you, I think you will be sorely disappointed. If you do decide to check this out, please be forewarned that there are some brutal scenes to this movie. Though the violence in here is quite predictable (man’s animal nature is no mystery to any thinking mind), it still packs a hard punch to your face and stomach. I know I felt like throwing up and least once during this movie, and I doubt I was alone in having that reaction. View at your own risk.