January
is normally a month saved for worthless films. Surprisingly, At First Sight is
an exception to that rule thanks to great performances from Val Kilmer (The Doors)
and Mira Sorvino (Mimic).
Kilmer
plays a charming blind man and Sorvino the female object of his affection. Together,
they try to make a complicated romance work in a story that attempts to balance
the traditional love story with the medical breakthrough drama. The story comes
from Dr. Oliver Sacks--the same man who inspired 1990's Awakenings, a wonderful
film that had similar themes. Although At First Sight doesn't reach the emotional
level of that film, it's quite compelling nonetheless.
This
film was directed by Irwin Winkler, a man who made his name by producing several
Martin Scorcese pictures (Mean Streets, Goodfellas). He made his directorial debut
with the Hollywood blacklist film Guilty By Suspicion and followed that up with
the ridiculous Sandra Bullock vehicle The Net. Happily, At First Sight is quite
a step up from that movie.
The
film really works because of the top notch talent. Kilmer plays Virgil with an
enormous amount of sensitivity rivaling Al Pacino in Scent Of A Woman. By that
same token, Sorvino gives her best performance to date, even surpassing her Oscar
winning turn in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite. These are two very appealing actors
with great chemistry. Though, at times, the film strays away and sinks into your
average melodrama, Winkler manages to make the film stirring enough to recommend.
