Mira Sorvino Movie:

				Label: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Salesrank:
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
The tagline states, "Only love can bring you to your senses." Well, your senses have to be pretty dulled to love At First Sight. On paper the story--based on the writings of medical writer extraordinaire Oliver Sacks (Awakenings)--is intriguing: a blind man regains sight after surgery yet can never connect with what he sees, including a lovely new girlfriend. Indeed, maybe blind was better. From such interesting stuff (and a talented cast) comes a tepid love story and an unconvincing drama.

Val Kilmer plays Virgil, a serene resort worker who plays hockey in the dark and is the best masseur this side of the Catskills. Onto his table comes Amy, a bone-weary NYC architect (Mira Sorvino) who cries the first time Virgil does his magic. Instead of a voyage into the world of blindness, Amy's first instinct is to take Virgil to an eye doctor who can restore sight (Bruce Davison). Virgil receives sight, crumbling the trust between him and Amy. The clichés start building up and by the time Amy is wooed by her ex-husband (Steven Weber), her boss no less, one's patience wears thin.

The medical curiosities of the story--Virgil can see an item but can't grasp what it is until he touches it--do not translate well on screen. The film's liveliest character is Nathan Lane as a teacher of the blind. A scene with Virgil that gets to the heart of his ailment is so filled with spontaneity, one wonders if it was scripted or simply Lane's own extemporaneous dialogue. After an admirable start as a director (Guilty by Suspicion), Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler has not been able to put cinematic highs or believable angst into his films (The Net, Night in the City). At First Sight may look good, but it is blind where it counts. --Doug Thomas

At First Sight [Region 2] Reviews:
Seeing is believing
2008-12-03 - "At First Sight" is based on the true story of a man who was blind for nearly his entire life due to cataracts and retinitis pigmentosa before having his sight temporarily restored. Based on an essay by British neurologist Oliver Sacks (who also penned Awakenings), the film follows stressed-out New York architect Amy (Mira Sorvino) as she attempts to "relax" at a weekend spa retreat. At the reception desk, she frowns at the list of activities and settles on daily massages instead. At her first session, she meets Virgil (Val Kilmer), a man with a truly magic touch. To her embarrassment, Amy breaks down crying as someone actually takes the time to touch her for the first time in a long time. Virgil, blind since childhood, excels as a massage therapist and enjoys hockey. Sensitive, constantly smiling and outgoing, he doesn't view blindness as a disability. Amy and Virgil begin seeing each other, but his prickly, overprotective sister Jennie keeps reminding her of Virgil's limitations as a blind man.

When Amy returns to New York and finds a doctor that is a pioneer in restoring vision, she urges Virgil to consider having the operation. This is the start of a very honest and painful dialog between Virgil, Jennie, and Amy; as a child, Virgil was subjected to every manner of faith healing in an attempt to cure his blindness. The remainder of the film deals with the aftermath of the surgery and the strain that Virgil's newfound sight places on his and Amy's relationship. After being blind for decades, Virgil's brain is unable to cope with the new flood of visual input, and he is only able to "see" by touch for the first few days. It's a refreshing twist on Hollywood portrayals of narrators succumbing to blindness and the sentiment of "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Instead, director Irwin Winkler and the gorgeous cinematography by John Seale paint Virgil's world of darkness in terms of touch, sound (the gorgeous rainstorm that allows Virgil to "see" Amy puts Daredevil (Director's Cut)'s CGI rain effect to shame!!) and smell (Virgil initially describes Amy as smelling like cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, to which his sister says it sounds like he's describing a coffeecake). His post-op world is one of blurry, super-saturated colors, sudden movements, and confusion, and similar to Asperger's Syndrome, Virgil has to learn to "read" facial expressions and visual cues.

Winkler deftly balances the romantic story with the medical one, although the film feels a touch long and could have benefitted from some editing (I wasn't crazy about Nathan Lane's cameo, although I love him in other films such as The Birdcage ). Kilmer handles pre- and post-op Val with tenderness and insight; as a blind man, he relies on his other senses like touch and hearing to guide him, but sight proves more treacherous and difficult than living in a familiar world of darkness. Sorvino's Amy was sweet and supportive, although at times she has difficulty understanding why Virgil would choose his old life over his new one. The beautiful visual metaphors and the love theme "Love Is Where You Are" by Diana Krall only add to the tender appeal of "At First Sight."

In this case, seeing is not believing
2008-07-21 - Between the tear-jerking excesses of two of the Christmas season's biggest movies, Patch Adams and Stepmom,you'd think that even the staunchest fans of those caring-and-sharing medical weepers would have reached their limit. But here comes At First Sight,which is not quite so life-and- death, but it's just as determined, in its modest way, to milk those tear ducts dry. In this case, though, the scientific context of the movie -- about a blind man who regains his sight with unexpected repercussions -- makes for a subject considerably more interesting than the romantic drama to which it is attached.

At First Sight is based on the writings of neurologist Oliver Sacks (the movie Awakenings was adapted from his work as well). It tells the true story of a 50-year- old blind man named Virgil who works as a YMCA masseur. On the eve of his wedding, he has cataracts removed, which allows him to see for the first time in 40 years. The experience, however, turns out to be more painful than joyful. As Sacks notes, the questions raised are profound, and have interested philosophers from John Locke to George Berkeley. Is sight a learned activity? What is the relationship between a world understood through touch and one understood through sight?
The basic facts have been moulded into a trite romance that could easily fit between a pair of Harlequin covers. Unfortunately, the film glosses over the science and deliberately avoids some of the odder aspects of the original case. Virgil, on gaining his sight, also managed to pack on about 50 pounds; stress made him eat. Somehow, though, you don't expect a star of Val Kilmer's magnitude to take the Raging Bull route to character authenticity through poundage.

Instead, what we have is a story of a woman who discovers the perfect man, almost loses him, and then regains him. Mira Sorvino plays Amy Benic, a hot-shot New York architect, who heads off for a spa weekend in a charming New England village. Before she knows it, a hunky masseur has her calf muscles in his hands and has her melting like warm butter under his probing fingers. Entranced, she returns for further rubdowns until one day she approaches Mr. Magic Fingers as he's getting on a bus and discovers -- omigod! -- he's blind.

After a brief Internet search, Amy discovers that Virgil doesn't necessarily have to be blind, and she lands a top surgeon (Bruce Davison) to cure the problem. It turns out that Virgil is a bit reluctant, and his sister Jennie (Kelly McGillis) is downright hostile to the idea of improving her brother's lot. Love wins, though, and Virgil agrees to undergo the treatment. Soon, Virgil and Amy are sharing her New York apartment. But Virgil, who has accommodated himself quite well as a blind man, is now a very inadequate sighted man, who can't read or write or interpret even the most basic social signals. He's miserable trying to learn how to see again, and the relationship goes into a tailspin.

Much of the dialogue, during these dreary lovers' quarrels, focuses on blindness in love and living with one's blind spots and limitations (she has a too-symbolic chunk of unfinished sculpture she started in college). Nathan Lane pops up in the role of a wise and funny counsellor, the sort of part that usually goes to Robin Williams. "Isn't seeing wonderful," he says to Virgil, when he takes him to a strip club. "Seeing sucks," says a disconsolate Virgil. Roll over, George Berkeley, and tell John Locke the news.

Director Irwin Winkler (Night and the City)is rarely better than pedestrian in handling this story. At worst, the dramatic elements are plain clumsy.

The most interesting moments in At First Sight have nothing to do with the love story, but rise instead from Virgil's struggles with the social rules of seeing. What do facial expressions mean? How do we learn to look away from the homeless? There are a few moments that try to capture Virgil's viewpoint -- lights, glare, moving shapes -- that are as useful as anything the movie has to say about the conventions of seeing. Given the rich visual opportunities of such a topic, it seems a great waste the movie wasn't directed by someone with a more astute eye. Conrad Alton, Filmbay Editor.

Indrukwekkende film
2008-02-24 - Oliver Sacks' To See and not See over het leven van Barbara en Shirl Jennings vormde de basis van At First Sight, waarin Val Kilmer een sinds z'n 8e blinde jongen Virgil speelt. Ogenschijnlijk geheel gewend aan zijn blindheid masseert hij vrouwen in een kuuroord. Mira Sorvino is als Mary, gescheiden van Duncan, gestresst van het werk, wanneer ze Virgil ontmoet en voor hem valt.

Parallel aan de groei van hun relatie, ondergaat Virgil een revolutionaire oogoperatie, waarna hij weer kan zien. Maar daarmee ontstaat ook de noodzaak van visueel geheugentraining, objecten herkennen, diepte en perspectief zien, kortom niet alleen zien, maar ook kijken, herkennen, inbeelden.

Een knappe film over zien, geloven, de spanning die zo'n verandering als voorheen blind, nu kunnen zien, geeft, uiteraard gemengd met romantiek, de kracht van aanraking en de vanzelfsprekendheden van ziende mensen.

Hoewel de film alweer in 1999 werd uitgebracht, kan een huur in de videotheek of bibliotheek anno 2008 je een indrukwekkend avondje bezorgen.

Ridiculous
2007-12-20 - What a stupid movie. Val Kilmer obviously has no idea how a blind person behaves and has no ability to portray a blind person. Kilmer and Sorvino have no chemistry. The entire story never rose above uninteresting and laughable. I think this film is an insult to blind people, as it portrays them as naive idiots. Spare yourself and avoid this stinker. If you want to see a good film about the blind watch A Patch of Blue,Wait Until Dark, or even Dancer in the Dark. These films portray the blind as strong, intelligent and also importantly, interesting.

Second worst movie I ever saw!
2006-08-29 - It goes on and on and on. First he has an idiotic smile on his face so we'll know how happy and well adjusted he is. Then this film slips into soft-core porn. The pacing is off by about two-thirds (WAY too slow to hold my interest) and then they bring in a so-called therapist who is insulting and completely inappropriate and keeps saying, "Just kidding!" These are usually very good actors, but don't waste your time even if you're a fan of Dr. Sacks work. You'll be disappointed AND bored.