Month: July 2017

Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore) walks in park with blind Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin).

BLIND

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

I found myself becoming fond of the film “Blind,” in which Alec Baldwin and Demi Moore give it their best try to make being blind sexy. And, Dylan McDermott makes being a white collar financial criminal into a scary, vicious thug.

Baldwin plays Bill Oakland, a novelist/ college professor, who has community service volunteers read his student papers for him at a Center for the Blind, which is where he meets Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore).

Suzanne gets 100 hours of community service, just for being married to Mark Dutchman (Dylan McDermott).

The female judge says that she does not believe that Suzanne knew what her husband was accused of doing, but dishes out the punishment anyway.

If anyone is a selfish, narcissistic psychopath, it is McDermott’s character, Mark. There is one scene in prison, where he effectively shows his colors. I was really frightened for Suzanne, when her husband, Mark, gets himself out of jail.

Never confront a narcissist about anything, because they will come at you with their teeth bared. McDermott does a great job of demonstrating this principle, while in prison.

This film tries to demonstrate that even though a man or woman is blind, they can still lead a meaningful life that contributes positively to life.

A future prospect of driverless autos could really enable the blind, who could get from place to place without depending so heavily on others.

In the film, “Blind,” Suzanne gets to know Bill, while her husband is in jail. She reads his student’s papers, looks up Bill’s novel, then visits his classroom, while he is teaching.

The major flaw of this film is too much explanation about being blind in the dialogue. The point being made is that they are just like everyone else, except they do not see.

This film would have been far more romantic, if the characters just acted out the situations. The audience gets it.

Why does Suzanne find Bill attractive? Bill gains her respect, and her husband, Mark, loses her respect. Her skin begins to crawl under the shame of her husband’s jewels.

Baldwin is drop dead handsome as a blind man. I was surprised to see him in such a vulnerable role.

Baldwin’s character is very frustrated having to depend on others, until Suzanne shows up.

In one scene, he keeps the office hot, and refuses to open the windows for Suzanne, which forces her to start shedding clothing. He also uses his novelist skills to paint a very romantic possibility of a life in France.

One of Bill’s male readers gains his trust enough to be invited to help him out at his home. This worker takes advantage of that trust by taking one of Bill’s manuscripts without asking.

Bill lost his sight in an auto crash, which also killed his wife. I got the impression that he was about to ask for a separation, when this accident occurred.

Michael Mailer (son of novelist Norman Mailer, 4^th marriage) is the producer and director of “Blind.” His half-brother, John Buffalo Mailer (Norman Mailer’s son, 6^th marriage) wrote the script and performs in the film. He plays Jimmy, an attendant at the Center for the Blind.

And, we also get to catch a glimpse of Baldwin’s real life wife, Hilaria Baldwin, as Susanne’s yoga teacher.

“Blind” is fun to watch, and makes it easy to understand the world of blindness.

Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore) receives a necklace from her husband, Mark (Dylan McDermott).

Dylan McDermott BIO:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dylan_McDermott

Screenplay by John Buffalo Mailer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Buffalo_Mailer

Directed and produced by Michael Mailer:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Mailer

Norman Mailer Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Mailer

A donation buys an email subscription to “Movies of the Spirit”

7/19/2017 # Blind

Kumail waits at the hospital with Emily’s parents (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano)

THE BIG SICK

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

This is my favorite film, so far, this year.

“The Big Sick” is all about how a brave Muslim comedian, Kumail Nanjiani, (true story) meets an American girl, Emily V. Gordon (Zoe Kazan) in his audience, while he is struggling to become a comedian.

She brings out the best in him, and he responds by loving her forever.

As the story opens, Kumail is fighting his way out of the expectations of his Pakistani, Muslim family, who are not too subtle about hooking him up with a nice Muslim girl.

This is post 9/11, when all Muslims are under intense scrutiny by all Americans. In fact, Emily’s parents, are quick to ask him, point blank, “What’s your take on 9/11?”

Breaking out of his multi-faceted, straight-jacket, after having been confronted with this question, over and over, Kumail responds, “Yeah, it was bad, we lost 19 of our best guys.”

Clearly, Kumail is letting go of all sense of safety. He is saying go ahead and kill me now. A stressed-out Muslim, seeks suicide by stressed-out American parent.

I loved seeing Holly Hunter as Emily’s mother. As always, she is laser-sharp in her approach, but fair. She has disappointments in her marriage, but stays for the love and support.

As soon as we see Emily’s father, Terry, played by Ray Romano, we know immediately what attracted Emily to Kumail. He’s the spitting image of her father. Except, the real Terry Gordon, does not look that way at all. I guess the filmmakers felt a need to explain the attraction.

Kumail puts together a one-man, stand-up show to introduce Americans to his Pakistani culture. He innocently is trying to show us why he is proud of his country of origin.

Emily, a student therapist, suggests to him, that what would make this piece interesting to Americans, would be for him to tell us about how he really feels about his country.

This is the key that unlocks Kumail’s career as a comedian. There is nothing like extreme tension to make people laugh.

In his final stand-up performance, Kumail explains about how his parents do not approve of his chosen profession. “There is doctor, lawyer, hundreds of jobs, Isis, then, at the bottom of the list, is comedian.”

I have to say that before seeing this film, I was aware of the existence of a Muslim comedian, who talked about being a Muslim in America.

This film is a must see on many levels. It’s timely, relevant, real, and it tackles what matters in today’s definition of a marriage.