Blink (1994)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Michael Apted

Writer (WGA):

Dana Stevens (written by)

Release Date:

26 January 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

Illusion. Deception. Murder. In the blink of an eye things are not what they seem.

Plot:

Emma is an attractive girl in her 20s who has been blind for 20 years. A new type of eye operation partially restores her sight...

Plot Keywords:

Blind | Police | Detective | Murder | Abusive Mother

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Madeleine Stowe	...	Emma Brody
Aidan Quinn	...	Detective John Hallstrom
James Remar	...	Thomas Ridgely
Peter Friedman	...	Dr. Ryan Pierce
Bruce A. Young	...	Lt. Mitchell
Laurie Metcalf	...	Candice
Matt Roth	...	Officer Crowe
Paul Dillon	...	Neal Booker
Michael P. Byrne	...	Barry
Anthony Cannata	...	Ned
Greg Noonan	...	Frank
Heather Schwartz	...	Young Emma
Marilyn Dodds Frank	...	Emma's Mother
Michael Stuart Kirkpatrick	...	Michael
Sean C. Cleland	...	Drover

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby

Certification:

Finland:K-14 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Germany:16 | Singapore:M18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Canada:A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

Madeleine Stowe visited doctors at UCLA to study blindness. Aidan Quinn and James Remar spent time with members of the Chicago Police Department, and the line "We will solve no crime before there's overtime" was provided by some of the officers.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Emma's dog, Ralph, is a trained guide dog. These animals are trained to focus on assisting their owners, specifically to ignore distractions in their environment and to obey their masters instantly. Yet Ralph barks when Emma walks down the stairs, he pulls away from her in the car park to investigate something and he chases the man ignoring Emma's calls to come back. These behaviours are totally out of character for a guide dog.

Quotes:

Emma Brody: I have no idea what beautiful is. Music is beautiful, but the things that I see, they just, they make my head hurt. And my heart.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

JERUSALEM RIDGE

Solid and interesting thriller cum drama, though not perfect

I saw this film a while ago at least once, my and never remembered too much about it beyond the premise, on a second visit I can see why it wasn't the most memorable during my younger years, though I like it more now. The film concerns a sassy blind musician who receives an transplant and suddenly gains the chance of sight after having lost it as a child. However her vision is imperfect to begin with, with her brain not fully synchronised with her eyes and in this condition she witnesses a murderer. Its good thriller territory so far, but when the police get involved the film takes a turn into drama. The film is bolstered tremendously by the fine acting and effective dialogue but in its efforts to combine an affecting drama about romance and return of sight with a mystery suspense thriller result in the two sides slightly at odds with neither served as well as they might be. The thriller side is hampered by a lack of surprises, or intensity, with a few taut sequences not quite enough to make a truly effective thriller, whilst as a drama it lacks enough character insight or. Still, it moves along nicely and one cannot help but be caught up in it, Michael Apted directs well, making the exciting moments suitably tense and the rest of it smoothly enjoyable. The best thing here is the acting, which takes the film beyond its structural shortcomings and gives it most of its effectiveness. Madeline Stowe is excellent, sassy yet vulnerable, an affecting and sympathetic performance with a tough centre. Aidan Quinn is equally fine as the cop on the case, hardnosed and unsentimental, but a decent guy, whilst James Remar provides decent support as Quinns partner. Stowe and Quinn spark nicely off each other throughout whilst their scenes are well written. One wishes that the film had gone down the route of character piece, or thriller, or woven the two elements together to greater use, but it remains pretty fine. Recommended for fans of the main actors or early 90's thrillers.