Jeff's Reviews

Thoughts on every movie I've ever seen.

At First Sight (1999)

Directed by Irwin Winkler

Starring Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis, Steven Weber

Author

Very leniently directed. Noticed a lot of questionable dialogue, delivery, and performance moments, which probably means that he went with most scenes on the first take. Gave it a low-budget kind of feel. Kinda refreshing though, cuz it made the whole movie seem less of a scripted performance and more natural.

Nice little story. A few emotional moments. The cotton candy was a nice touch. Would have been kind of cool if the first and last sight he ever had was the cotton candy. Nice “where are they now” graphics with heart-wrenching, bassy music at the end. A few story points, though. I didn’t know that you could see a few hours after having major eye surgery. And it seems like he went from feeling to touching a little too quickly. See how quickly he ran into that plate of glass? You’d think that when you’re upset you’d resort to what is more instinctual and comfortable, which in his case would be feeling around with his arms.

Virgil was a bit too simple for a central character.He had a history of problems, but we don’t see how he has changed or grown as a person from them. It’s either bad writing or underacting, but I don’t think he was an interesting enough character. In the beginning, I had a hard time taking Kilmer seriously with that retarded grin on his face. He looked like an idiot with that hockey stick. Sorvino did a good job. Nice to see her stepping up as a leading lady. Love that little hook nose.

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