Plot: What’s it about?
Emma (Madeline Stowe) has been blind since the age of 8 when her mother shoved her into a mirror, thus damaging her corneas. For the past twenty years, she’s been blind and relies on her Seeing Eye dog to get through the day to day routines. But, all that is about to change. Her eye doctor (James Remar) has a donor for her and she’s about to get new corneas and will be able to see again, in theory. The operation takes place and Emma does, in fact, begin to see. Images are foreign to her and we see what she sees as if looking through a stained-glass window. It’s not long after she gets her sight back, though, that she starts to see things that aren’t there. This doesn’t mean much as they are rather insignificant things, but still things nonetheless. When her upstairs neighbor is murdered, she gets a hand from the Chicago Police Department, led by Det. John Hallstrom (Aidan Quinn). In the “small world” department, Hallstrom is a guy who, in the beginning of the movie, gets drunk with his buddies and tries to seduce Emma while she’s on stage with her band. While opening the movie with a little comic relief, this does nothing more for the film than set the stage. But as the two get to know each other, they also try to deduce if Emma is just seeing things (no pun intended) or if she is really the only key witness in a murder.
“Blink” sets the stage for an all-together new kind of murder mystery. We’ve seen this type of film time and time again, but are still somewhat magnetically attracted to the mystique of it all. We get a good feeling of the “buddy cop” routine as Hallstrom and his friends are constantly at odds with one another, but still are on the job to find who the killer is. As the two work together to figure out who the murderer is and, more importantly, why they’re doing it; we can’t help but feel a little pity for Emma’s character. The movie could have just as easily relied on some more clichéd techniques, but this is where “Blink” manages to rise above the cream. There’s a few sex scenes in the film, typical of that “Late 80’s – Early 90’s” movie, but doesn’t drag the film into “B” movie territory. Odds are that if movies like “Copycat” did anything for you, then this is something you’ll want to check out. Stowe and Quinn are two great actors who can’t seem to find their share of parts lately, but as far as thrillers go, “Blink” is something that you can watch, not take too seriously and wonder who did it. Though the ending is a bit far-fetched, the film is something that can bring you back to the days (not so long ago) when movies didn’t have to rely on “A” list stars or any fancy effects to get your attention. And keep it.
Video: How does it look?
Incorrectly labeled on the back of the box is the aspect ratio. It states that the movie is 1.85:1, whereas it’s actually shot in a wider 2.35:1 aspect ratio. That being said, the image is fairly clean throughout. A majority of the film is dark (due to the subject matter and the entire “blind” theme) and many scenes tend to reflect the nature of the movie. There are a few shots that are clear as day, but most of the action takes place either inside or at night. I’m not sure that I can think of one scene where the sun was shining and you see blue sky (even the ending scene has Chicago shrouded in fog). Aside from that, the image is very crisp and clean with only a few artifacts here and there bringing it down. Also included is a full-frame version that looks a lot worse (just another tip of the hat for anamorphic enhancement).
Audio: How does it sound?
What surprised me the most was the very robust Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The surrounds are almost constantly doing something and there are a few moments where I considered turning the volume down a few notches. I expected somewhat of a modest “early to mid 90’s” soundtrack, but was more than pleasantly surprised when I heard what was going on. Dialogue, as one might imagine, sounds clear and natural (though Quinn tends to mumble most of his lines). The LFE is very active as well. I suppose that the theme of the movie was that of the senses and they make us use our ears a little more than we thought. This doesn’t sound fake or unnatural in the least and I say again, I was indeed surprised.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The original theatrical trailer is included as is some DVD-ROM content.
