Lights Out Movie Reviews
Copyright (c) 1994, Bruce Diamond
All rights reserved




        Ŀ          BLINK:  Michael Apted, director.  Dana Stevens, screen-  
          play.  Starring Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, James      
          Remar, Peter Friedman, Bruce A. Young, Paul Dillon,      
          Matt Reith, and Laurie Metcalf.  New Line Cinema.        
          Rated R.                                                 
        

          Boy, howdy, was I wary of this thriller.  The publicity had
     all the earmarks of the done-to-death "body parts controlled by
     previous owner" plot ( la THE HAND, 1981, starring Michael
     Caine, and directed by *Oliver Stone*!; and the equally-bad BODY
     PARTS, 1991), a plot that I find dubious, at best, to construct a
     movie around.  (Following the "logic" of films like these, you'd
     want to screen *every* blood transfusion you get, to make sure
     your heart won't be pumping criminal intentions with every beat;
     it's a ludicrous premise, and I've yet to see a successful film
     made from it).  Well, I was pleasantly surprised to find that
     BLINK contains a fairly-original hook, and is a well-crafted
     thriller, at that.

          Emma Brody (Madeleine Stowe), blind from age eight thanks to
     her abusive mother, receives new corneas and new perception of
     life, thanks to a talented doctor and a thoughtful donor.
     (Remember the donor angle, it comes up again later.)  She's
     apprehensive about the operation at first, and that anxiety be-
     comes well-merited when Brody unknowingly becomes the only
     witness to a terrible murder that occurs in her own Chicago
     apartment building.  The case throws her together with a rough-
     and-tumble cop, played by Aidan Quinn, who doggedly pursues the
     case even though his only eyewitness was blind just six short
     weeks before the incident.  Their relationship (and yes, gawd
     help us, they do fall into each others' arms after a while, never
     mind the ethics of the situation; I'm tired of this easy
     violation of professional ethics that pervades film, but that's
     another soapbox for another time) marks the bedrock of reality
     that everything else in BLINK eddies around.  It's a relationship
     based on a sharp perception of real life:  they argue, they
     complain, they even give and receive compliments in an offhand,
     uncomfortable manner, so natural that you could believe Stowe and
     Quinn were "hooked" together in some way.

          Speaking of hooks, the side effect of Brody's eye surgery is
     what makes Detective Hallstrom's (Quinn) job so difficult:  not
     only does the world drop in and out of focus for most of the
     movie, but Brody suffers from a malady called perceptual delay.
     Essentially, the character suffers from a visual image lag, as
     her doctor explains; what she sees one moment may not clearly
     register until hours later.  When Brody sees the killer on the
     stairs of her apartment complex, she mistakes the blurred image
     for the building manager.  It isn't until the next morning that
     she realizes she saw an intruder.  That, and the mysterious
     sounds she heard coming from the apartment above her are what
     sends her to the police.

          As the plot thickens, Hallstrom discovers the killer is a
     serial murderer, and somehow, the donor of Brody's new corneas is
     connected.  That's revealing a bit of the surprise, but it won't
     ruin the movie for you, because there's so much more to it than
     that.  Eventually, you may not find yourself actually caring
     about the motive behind the murders, but the killer himself, and
     the visual tricks (some employing computer effects, especially
     "morphing") will keep you jumping with practically every scene.
     As an added kick, Hallstrom and Brody have a connection before
     the case even begins, as shown in an opening scene that'll either
     have you howling or turning up your nose in distaste.  That one
     scene will either sell you on Quinn's character, or make you give
     up on him.

          Of course, for me, the inclusion of Emma Brody's job as a
     fiddler in an Irish bar band is just an added perk to a
     satisfying thriller.

     RATING:  6 out of 10
