The white sickness has struck, and everyone around you is going blind. For some strange reason you have yet to succumb to the sickness. If your significant other were to fall ill, would you play blind to stay with them in a quarantine camp, or would you proclaim your immunity and be free? Such is the case for Julianne Moore in Fernando Meirelles's (City of God, The Constant Gardener) latest, Blindness. There would be no heart wrenching story if she didn't go and that's where our story begins to unfold. The few people at the beginning of this epidemic are separated and put up in an old military compound to fend for themselves. Everyone is blind, they are given minimal supplies on a non-regular basis, their only hope is the one person who can see who refuses to tell anyone about it.
Sounds interesting doesn't it? Sounds like it could be a wonderful setup for spectacular social commentary from one of the best up and coming directors? Well it's not. For lack of a better pun, Blindness lacks vision. If Meirelles was a boxer, he'd be the kind who was constantly winding up but never delivering the one-two combination to actually do anything. The film trudges through the mud of it's story line from one location to the next. Many times we find ourselves stuck in one area for far too long, and the story just lacks focus and cohesion.
Also don't bother looking for any answers or logic, because this film doesn't have them for you. You won't find out why anyone is sick, and you will constantly be frustrated by characters decisions that seem to defy all kinds of logic.
But I'm being a bit harsh aren't I? The film isn't a total waste of time, the microcosm of the people in the quarantine camp is interesting, and though blind people are portrayed like zombie retards (maybe the blind protest for the film is valid), some of the characterization and personal dynamics are interesting. The acting is also pretty top notch, except for the aforementioned ineptitude with which everyone plays blind. Meirelles visuals are as usual pretty spectacular and do add quite a bit to the entire experience of the film. It's just a shame the script wasn't sharper.
Review by: Greg MacLennan
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