Cast: Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis, Nathan Lane, Bruce Davison, Steven Weber
Director: Irwin Winkler
Producers: Irwin Winkler, Rob Cowan
Screenplay: Steve Levitt and Irwin Winkler & Rob Cowan based on "To See and Not See" by Oliver Sacks
Cinematography: John Seale
Music: Mark Isham
U.S. Distributor: MGM
At one time or another, almost every sighted person wonders what it would be like to experience blindness. Likewise, every blind person (especially those whose eyes have been non-functional since birth or from an early age) must be curious about what it means to see. Wondering is one thing; taking steps to make it happen is altogether different. Imagine the challenges encountered by a blind person gaining his or her vision - the riot of colors, shades, and confusing images. For most people, sight is grown into. We learn by associating things that we see with our other senses -- touch, smell, taste, and hearing. What would it be like to have the world of vision suddenly opened up to an unprepared mind? That compelling question lies at the heart of At First Sight, a romantic melodrama with a fascinating premise.
The events presented in this film are based on a real-life case history. This isn't surprising; the script shows a keen knowledge not only of what it means to be blind, but of the kind of trauma associated with achieving sight. Generally, we regard the sighted state as "normal" and therefore desirable. What we do not take into account is that, for a blind person, the parameters of normality have shifted. The blind are used to living in darkness and may be understandably fearful and reluctant to change their condition, even if it is medically feasible. At First Sight shows the physical, emotional, and psychological consequences of a blind man regaining the sight he lost when he was a young child.
For Virgil Adamson (Val Kilmer), the dark, contained world he inhabits is a safe and comfortable place. He lives in a small community in upstate New York where he holds down a job as a masseur at a local health spa. His older, overprotective sister, Jenny (Kelly McGillis), hovers around him like a mother hen, caring for his every need. Then Amy Benic (Mira Sorvino) enters his life. She's an architect from Manhattan, and, after a couple of sensual massages and a few long conversations, she and Virgil fall in love. Over protests from his sister, Virgil decides to move to the city with Amy. Meanwhile, she investigates whether his blindness, caused by "congenital cataracts," is reversible. One experimental eye doctor (Bruce Davison) believes it could be and is willing to perform surgery. Virgil agrees, and the operation is a success. But his new ability to see creates serious problems. He does not understand the rush of images he is exposed to, and he finds himself wishing he could go back to the way he was. And, instead of cementing his relationship with Amy, Virgil's sight drives a wedge between the lovers.
At First Sight is structured primarily as a love story, and, as is often the case with movies like this, there is a heavy dose of melodrama. It's not exactly a three-hankie film, but there will be a few misty eyes in the audience. If there's a problem with director Irwin Winkler's approach to the material, it's that he lacks finesse. Everything is hammered home, from society's anti-blind prejudices (which are overstated) to a too-obviously symbolic sculpture. Greater emotional subtlety would have made this a noticeably more moving experience.
Despite the dopey smile he wears throughout At First Sight, Val Kilmer deserves recognition for his credible portrayal of a blind man. And, although he is believable with a cane behind dark glasses, his best moments are those in which Virgil is struggling to understand the myriad of images bombarding his brain. For Mira Sorvino, who won an Oscar for her comedic role in Mighty Aphrodite, this marks a return to drama after the silliness of Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and the action-oriented flicks Mimic and The Replacement Killers. Sorvino, who possesses both screen presence and acting talent, displays both as Amy, an intensely sympathetic character who makes mistakes out of love, not maliciousness. Effective support is provided by Kelly McGillis (although the nastiness of her character could have been toned down) and Nathan Lane as a therapist whose job is to help Virgil cope with his sight. His advice: "One must die as a blind person to be born again as a sighted person."
Curiously, for a film that emphasizes the importance of physical contact, the sex (an act which represents the ultimate in touching) is surprisingly generic. In fact, the massage is more erotic than the scene when Virgil and Amy consummate their relationship. The reason for this probably has more to do with obtaining a "PG-13" rating than with any innate Puritanism, but the lack of sexual intensity is evident. Likewise, the scene in which Amy strips for the newly-seeing Virgil is accomplished in a manner that hides nudity from the camera. Once again, this approach points to film makers who are focused on obtaining a particular classification.
In the final analysis, although At First Sight offers solid entertainment, it's too uneven to be considered memorable. The reason to see this film isn't the romance, it's the depiction of the various stages of blindness and sight experienced by Virgil, and how each prompts a different emotional response. One gets the sense that, without the melodrama, this might have been a better story. Of course, it would also have had significantly less commercial potential. So, while At First Sight does not do for blindness what Beyond Silence did for deafness, it nevertheless opens issues about sight that many of us do not readily consider.
© 1999 James Berardinelli