Review: Blindness (3/10) - 2009: Blind (Staff) Leading The Blind (Cast)?

When I visited my local DVD store, after browsing the shelves of the movies I've already watched, deciding what I could blindly pick (no pun intended), this was when this movie cover really caught my eye. I read the synopsis on the back, and the concept was very different to anything I'd come across in a long while.

The idea of a "White Sickness" where an airborne virus renders people blind without any visible signs of infection was extremely intriguing to me. Directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener, City of God), inspired by José Saramago's novel, Blindness takes the viewer on a 121 minute deteriorating process of an infection, not dissimilar to 24 Days Later.

I have always thought Julianne Moore (Hannibal, Evolution) was a good actress and adding Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) and Mark Ruffalo (Zodiac) was an interesting choice of cast for this seemingly low-budget movie. Ironically scenes with empty streets and damaged property indicate that there was a higher budget than I originally expected, however this did not come across in the final production of the movie in my opinion.

The story of the movie as indicated begin with an individual suddenly becoming blind whilst driving home. This sickness spreads to the point of isolating the sick from the healthy in a hospital's blind ward, guarded by soldiers. An eye-doctor (Ruffalo) contracts the disease whilst treating the original victim, whilst his wife (Moore) is seemingly unaffected by the sickness. This renders her the only sighted person in the blind ward after refusing to leave her husband's side in his time of need, and feigning illness to allow her into the quarantined area. The storyline follows the individuals' plight in increasingly squalid conditions within the ward, with limited supplies and support on the way.

The following trailer shows the potential this movie has to offer:



Whilst Blindness was selected as the opening film at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, this does not automatically safeguard it from the numerous flaws and inaccuracies that the film exhibits. IMDB state that in order to prepare for acting in the film, all of the actors, crew and extras participated in so-called "blind camps". In these camps, participants were blindfolded, taken to an unknown location and left in the middle of the street to find their way around.

It can be noted that there was always someone on-hand to guide them, yet almost always, Director Fernando Meirelles claims that someone would always breakdown and give up. As with the training, the film lacks any realism when it comes to acting blind. Of course it is a hard skill, but there are always ways to make it more realistic, including blacked-out lenses for example.

I had high hopes for this movie and I felt continuously let down by the camera angles, poor musical composition and quality, and the way the movie seemed to drag on, rather than build up anticipation to an emphatic climax. Unrealistic scenarios that include an unsupervised blind ward are one of the many moments which suspend this movie from really working well, and I feel that in another world, developed by a different company, with superior cast, this film could have been a major blockbuster. This is the reason for the low 3/10 score I've provided it.

The numerous continuation errors and seemingly endless patience from Moore, when she could simply take charge of the entire situations she faced remaining as the only sighted person was almost petty. City of God was fantastic, but I feel that Fernando Meirelles did not reproduce the quality found in that production, with this movie. I find it increasingly frustrating that I cannot divulge into exact examples, which could ruin the movie for those who would like to see it, however I'd like to offer my view that I really do suggest that people give this movie a go despite what I've said.

The reason for this is that it is a completely new concept, it is exciting and unpredictable at times, and if you put aside your differences with the acting and the unrealistic scenarios mentioned, (among many others) it can be an enjoyable experience. I think for a film like this, it may be down to the individual, but in my opinion it was a poorer-executed 24 Days Later.