Gli occhi della vita

Mira Nair, the talented director of this film keeps surprising us. She gets excellent acting from the different casts in all her movies. "Hysterical Blindness" is no exception. Ms. Nair working on the screen play by Laura Cahill, and based on Ms. Cahill's own stage play, takes us to a town in New Jersey, so close to Manhattan in geography, but far away in the way these people seem to be living in another planet.

Debby Miller blames her mother for whatever is wrong with her life. Her father left her when she was quite young. Her mother, Virginia, makes ends meet by working as a waitress in a local diner. Both daughter and mother have been cheated out of happiness because of the loss they have experienced. While Debby dwells on her unhappiness, Virginia seems to have adjusted quite well.

Debby is a woman that is desperate to find a man. Obviously, she is quite capable to give her best into any relationship. It's sad how she goes after the one man she should have avoided in the worst way. It will be too late before she realizes the mistake she has made.

Throughout the film, Debby and Beth, share their hopes and aspirations. While Beth is grounded, Debby is flighty, hoping for things she can't have. On the other hand, Virginia meets a nice man, Nick, at the diner. They begin a friendship that unfortunately is cut short by tragedy. All in all, the film final scenes tells us that Debby realizing her mistakes goes back to her roots and to her friendship with Beth.

The strength in the movie is the great performances Ms. Nair gets out of the four principals. Uma Thurman is good as the Debby. Gena Rowlands, as the mother, makes an appealing Virginia, who makes us care about her. Juliette Lewis, as Beth, is also endearing. Ben Gazzara makes a short, but effective contribution as Nick, the man who finds love with Virginia.

This is a film that shows Ms. Nair's talents perfectly.

Hysterical Blindness starts where 1980's Gloria ended. Gena Rowlands is one of the most under-rated actresses in Hollywood. She is nothing less than terrific in this movie. Surprisingly, Uma Thurman is just as good. Most of her career has been dubbed as eye candy and a beautiful body with nothing else to offer. In the past few years, Uma has broke away from her earlier career to become a decent actor. Here, Uma gives her best performance. At time, Rowlands and Thurman make you want to switch the channel because their performances are too good. Moments of embarrassment and sadness over whelm you to believe that both characters are doomed to find happiness and to have fun with their lives. A somewhat happy ending, the movie identifies with the lives that these characters have. They are almost doomed from the very start of the film, but manages to find shreds of happiness to keep living. Somewhat of a Cassavetes depiction on human emotion, the movie falls under the category of yet another great film produced by HBO.

I rate this highly 'cos of the performances of Thurman and Lewis. They were absolutely outstanding. I take on board the comments about the dodgy accents, music, anachronistic details, but they don't matter to 99% of the people who watch. The characterisations were great! Even if they didn't leave you precisely where intended, they were consistent and you could buy into them.

I really like the comment here to the effect that the film would have some merit if the characters achieved even a hint of self-awareness by the end of the film. This is an important point, and I would agree whole-heartedly if the film had a different title. The title is all that's needed to give this film perspective, to place it specifically and allow it to be what it is without reference to the frame that gives it meaning.

I enjoyed this movie because it was REAL. Hollywood too often sugarcoat characters and their experiences, almost to the point that it makes you want to puke because you know real life never turns out that peachy. This ending wasn't exactly a happy one, all the problems weren't solved and you're left to imagine what went on afterwards. Nobody fell madly in love and got married like some fairy tale... that was refreshing. Splendid job by the actors, I love Juliette Lewis, and she was her usual charming self.

My only complaint, is why was Deb so.... frustrating? I found myself asking, 'Why is she being so difficult? Why doesn't she open her eyes and see what's going on? Does she really think Rick would want anything to do with a girl he picked up from a bar and had a one night stand with?' And so forth. SHE'S the one putting HERSELF in these ridiculous and tragic situations. Halfway through the movie I just got so tired of her endless cynicism. Miss Thurman was terrific, don't get me wrong, but the character irritated me somewhat, maybe that was just me.

Other than that, I think this is one of the best HBO films so far. They really have a knack for bringing real life to the screen, I'm hardly ever disappointed. Quite a few women can probably relate to one of the characters or at least seen themselves, at one time, in their predicaments. I mean, we all want to find true love... but make sure you're looking in the right place! 7/10.

One of 2002's best acting performances is in this movie about two young women pursuing their dreams but only finding emptiness. One will never be disappointed by the always great acting of Gena Rowlands and Juliette Lewis. The surprise is in the acting of Uma Thurman. Her character has to be one of the most difficult roles I've ever seen, and she is so convincing that it's hard to believe that she doesn't live a life off-stage as she did here. The movie is excellently directed and edited. The subject is somewhat discomforting, as is much of today's culture.