Customer Reviews

Blink (Terror Ciego) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As thrillers go this is above average. True, the premise is a "been there, done that" sort of thing with a romance between the detective and the potential victim with a serial killer in the shadows, etc. However there is just enough originality here added to solid performances by the stars to make it worthwhile.

Aidan Quinn (no relation to Anthony) plays a cute and quirky detective in the Windy City on the trail of a budding serial killer. Madeleine Stowe is a blue grass/Irish violinist blind since she was eight. As the movie opens she is about to get cornea transplants, and before long she can see, sort of, which is important since she has become a witness to murder. Some of what she sees are flashbacks to the day before, which makes her a problem witness for the police. Some other flashbacks are to when her mother smashed her face into a mirror for playing with her make-up. How sick is that? I presume this was dreamed up by Dana Stevens, who gets credit for the script, which is a kind of mishmash of clever lines and shlock dialogue as though two different people (or half a dozen) wrote it.

Michael Apted's direction is not inspired although it isn't all that bad either. But he doesn't develop the serial killer's personality, and so the weirdo's motivation seems a bit of a stretch. Also undeveloped is the doctor whose love for Stowe is unrequited. The main thing is the erotic chemistry between Stowe and Quinn, and the personality of Stowe's character, which is original and the best thing in the movie. I think this would have received a better reception had Quinn's character fallen in madly in love with the violinist. As it plays, we are not sure whether he really cares or not.

Madeleine Stowe is sexy and does a good job in a demanding role, probably the most demanding of her modest career. See it for her.

A brilliant performance from Madeline Stowe elevates BLINK in an otherwise slow moving, at times muddled, movie. Stowe plays a blind violinist who receives a corneal transplant that results in her having delayed perceptions, that is seeing things that may have happened a day or so before. This involves her in the murder of a young woman who lives above her, and ultimately brings her to meet Aidan Quinn, an egotistical young detective, who is assigned to the case, and ultimately ends up falling in love with her.

Michael Apted's direction sometimes gets in the way of true suspense, the middle of the movie seeming to slow down, and the killings take second place to the love affair. A red herring is thrown in and you might swallow it, but the identity of the killer once revealed may come as a surprise.

Stowe and Quinn have a good chemistry and good support comes from James Remar and Peter Friedman, but it is Madeleine's marvelous performance that enlightens this film.

It's true that the story may stretch your willingness to believe at times (though it seems that the "delayed vision" phenomena is accurate), what makes this a really good movie is the quality of the acting. Aidan Quinn and Madeline Stowe create real people in this movie - people you could readily run into on the northside of Chicago. There isn't a false note to their performance. The same can also be said for the supporting work of James Remar.

Add to the quality of the performances the visual feel of the movie - Michael Apted has put together solid visual effects with a great and realistic vision of Chicago. This isn't the standard lakeshore/magnificant mile plus generic city that you usually see. This is the Chicago of the neighborhoods.

Finally, the music for this movie introduced me to The Drovers - a Chicago band that is absolutely brilliant. If you're anything like me, the day after you watch this, you'll be out hunting their cd's.

If you're looking for a decent thriller to watch for a couple of hours then Blink is a good choice. It's not a spectacular movie, or one which you would probably want to watch again and again, but it is entertaining and worth seeing.

The best thing about this movie is Madeleine Stowe playing the blind woman, Emma Brody, who is given a transplant operation to help her see again. While her sight is returning she witnesses a murder committed by a brutal serial killer and becomes his next target. Stowe plays her character really well, making the blind scenes look genuine and making you care about her future. Aidan Quinn was OK in his role as Detective John Hallstrom, the police detective investigating the serial killer case who (surprise, surprise) falls for Emma Brody. My main problem was that Hallstrom's role wasn't really appealing to me. He was an extroverted womaniser before he met Emma, and he never really matured from this point. In the first scene of the movie Hallstrom gets drunk in a bar and tries to get Emma's attention, not realising that she is blind. I thought Hallstrom seemed like a moron in this scene and it didn't really bode well for the rest of the film or the developing relationship between them. I was actually much more intrigued by Hallstrom's police partner Thomas Ridgely, played by the quieter James Remar. The only problem with Emma's character is that the story demands that she does a couple of silly things, such as slipping away from her police bodyguard in the middle of the night and other unnecessary actions that nobody sensible would do when being hunted by a killer.

The plot is pretty standard stuff although it is shot well and the acting is good. The murderer never seems that scary until the final couple of scenes, when he becomes much more realistic. Overall, this is a good film and I recommend it for people looking for a decent thriller with a romantic subplot. It won't blow you out of the water, but it will keep you happy enough while you're watching it.

Stowe portrays a blind musician who has undergone surgery to correct her vision. While she is adjusting to her new reality, she becomes a witness in a murder investigation. Quinn is the detective assigned to the investigation. Laurie Metcalf (from Rosanne) has a minor role in this as well. I especially enjoyed the music. If you like your mystery blended with romance, this would make a great Friday night rental.

I enjoyed this very much. Of course, I have always loved Aiden Quinn, a Chicago boy who's been around a long time, and who I last saw in that great Friday night TV show that, drats, got cancelled, about a minister and his family. He was wonderful in Barry Levinson's "Avalon", and Madelaine Stowe was in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts" as Tim Robbins' wife. They both fit together well here, even thought she exudes more class than he. There's something so "homebody' about Quinn. This was his first big lead, and he handled it well. The romance is great. Much like "Wait Until Dark", yet Stowe is far from the hapless woman. She is very feisty, very strong. The ending was sappy, but the rest was good. Filmed in Chicago. Look of the picture was dark and gritty - very film noir, except for the ending which was filmed in morning light. To be fair, the Chicago Tribune critic didn't think Quinn's cop was written as effective at all - that he was completely inept. Maybe I missed something, or she knows more about police work than I, or am I just lured by his blue eyes? SPOILER - --- And I couldn't quite follow the leap Quinn made as to the murderer being after victims who had transplants from one girl. How did he get to that? -------

The film is excellent. Madeleine Stowe is performing perfectly. This film is a milestone in her career. Especially, I recommend the final scene of the film. Breathtaking.

This is a thriller that has an intriguing plot. A beautiful fiddler, Emma Brody, blind since the age of eight, gets a corneal transplant twenty years after the domestic tragedy that robbed her of her eyesight. She then regains her eyesight, in a manner of speaking. It is a work in progress, and she is only able to see shadowy or distorted images. She also suffers from some sort of delayed or retrograde reaction to what she sees. So, images she sees today are really things that she may have seen the day before. This becomes particularly problematic or disconcerting when she becomes the only witness to have seen a killer shortly after a murder took place in her apartment building.

Naturally, the police are a little skeptical about her value as a witness. Having been blind for so long, however, her olfactory ability is heightened, and she is able to provide another valuable clue as to the killer. This becomes important, as the killer strikes again and again. The Detective assigned to the case, John Hallstrom, the precinct's self-proclaimed lady killer, becomes smitten with her, much to his surprise, as he has tended to be a love 'em and leave 'em type of guy. She, in turn, bitter because it was her mother who had blinded her, is initially unreceptive to his charms. When each is willing to drop their cynical, public personas, they find that their inner selves mesh, and they fall in love. Unfortunately, Emma is in acute danger, as the killer has a definite agenda, and Emma appears to be at the top of his list.

Madeleine Stowe is excellent as the beautiful Emma, giving her a hard-edged exterior while not losing her vulnerability. Aidan Quinn seems a little bit like a fish out of water as the rude, crude, and lewd Detective Hallstrom. It is only when his character falls in love with Emma, that Quinn seems to come alive in the part and feel comfortable. It is then that he hits his stride. The love scenes are passionate and inspired.

The rest of the cast gives competent performances, but the film never hits the level of suspense that one anticipates. The serial killer is a murky character whose raison d'etre is ultimately skimmed over. The sub-plot involving a potential romance between Emma and her eye surgeon sort of collapses onto itself, leaving the viewer to wonder why it was interjected into the story in the first place. Moreover, it is a major ethical breach for a detective to become intimately involved in a love affair with a witness in a case being investigated by that detective. Notwithstanding some of these short comings, however, it is still interesting enough film to warrant a rental, if not an actual purchase.

Since first teamed up as boyfriend and girlfriend in the 1985 Richard Dreyfuss/Emilio Estevez comedy 'Stakeout', Madeline Stowe and Aidan Quinn make a huge comeback together in 'Blink'. Madeline Stowe is a young woman in her twenties who undergoes an operation that lets her regain partial vision after being tramatically blinded as a child. While still making the drastic adjustment to a new world, she unfortunately becomes the only witness to a murder. Handsome and cool Chicago police detective John Halstrome's (Aidan Quinn) attraction forces him to defend this witness to his doubting collegues as being credible. He subsequently winds up juggling a steamy affair with Stowe, and decifering true or false whatever she actually sees...and what are mere dellusions brought on by fear and the recent surgery. Two strong-willed and attractive stars make for a very good romantic scenerio, neither could've done better than Stowe and Quinn. The movie I think is a great for Chicagoians, staying true to the city and its make-up especially with it's native star Quinn and his awesome windy city accent. As for the plot, its a thrilling and interesting crime as it begins to unfold, adding touches of fear with scenes of the killer...seen mostly through Stowe's blurry eyes. You really need to see the movie unedited to get the full thrust, which is why I bought it a while ago. You really couldn't see a movie with these two without being able to watch their passionate love sequences, and I always thought watching a really good murder mystery that had frequent commercials was like making love with coffee breaks every ten minuets. Take a look at this great, new-classic thriller with plenty of comedic touches and you wont regret it.

I said 'this is a woman's movie'. My hubby said 'what's not to like?' Stowe and Quinn add that special spark that gives what could have been a ho-hum mystery into something enticing. Suspend disbelief about the premise of retroactive vision, and you will be entertained. Stowe is at turns bitchy and steamy, sensuous and clingy...all the things you would expect of a woman in love, in peril,and feeling vulnerable in her blindness. Quinn is all "Irish-cop" with a penchant for Stowe. The supporting actors are all top-rate, and the writing is more than adequate to keep you entertained. Trust me.