Blinded (2004)
While doing her rounds in the Scottish countryside, Doctor Caroline Lamar comes upon a hitchhiker, and offers him a lift. Young Danish backpacker Mike Hammershoi explains that he is looking for work in the area, and so she points him in the direction of Black's farm, an isolated steading. Francis Black, the owner, who is blind, and lives there with his ailing mother Bella, and enigmatic young wife Rachel, tells Mike he can work in the yard. But put off by the foreboding atmosphere, Mike declines. A chance encounter with Rachel, however, persuades him to stay and settle in. Since the accident that blinded him two years earlier, Francis has become incresingly bitter, and sensing hs young wife's attraction to the stranger, orders him to leave. But rather than force them apart, Mike's imminent departure only serves to bind teh two in a passionate relationship that will ultimately have dark consequences for them all.
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Powerful
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
I reckon this is a real cinematic achievement for a micro budget film. The cinematography is lush and moody, and its backed up with great performances by an impressive cast - Peter Mullan as a blind abusive husband, Jodhi May as his desperate wife, Anders Bertelson as her unwitting lover and Phyllida Law as Mullan's tricky mother. Like the mud pit threatening to drown the cast at the start of the film, the dark mood established draws you into a murderous love triangle and morality tale. Looks like it was inspired by The Postman Only Rings Twice as it has similar obsessive characters at the heart of the story. Definitely worth a look!
I was enjoying this film right up until the last 15 minutes or so where they tried to tie everything up and be poetic and all that good stuff and a bag of chips. The ending removed all hope that this movie was leading into something good. I like the backdrop and the characters and some of the plot and for all that- you should take a peek. Yet this movie has a horrible and painful flaw of a ridiculous plot twist that when introduced, will remove all ability to take this movie seriously anymore. You'll know it when you see it.So if you understand you are watching a mortally wounded script that is still interesting then you can get some entertainment out of this because it does have an interesting little drama to play out.PLOT: To a Scottish farm woman- a dutch handyman who arrives is a whole lot more interesting than her blind cranky farmer husband. She is tragic in that the worst luck befalls her men. As romance starts to fill up the air so does tragedy.
Don't go see this film if you're feeling down or a bit depressed. It's quite possibly the bleakest film I've ever seen. I cannot recall a single light moment. Having said this, it is superbly shot, the plot maintains your interest to the end and the acting is excellent. A real plus was Samantha Bond who looked well tasty as the Doctor. The Mike Hammershoi character took some working out (still not quite sure what made him tick) and Francis Black was real mean, brilliantly portrayed by Peter Mullan. I've no idea of this film's budget but it can't have cost much to make unless the actors were paid a fortune. The most expensive props seemed to me to be those being dumped in the bottomless pit !
'Blinded' is a dark movie, in a sinister setting in Scotland. Love, murder, adultery and deceiving are the key words in this beautiful yet moody film. Divine play by most actors. Some scenes reminded me of urban legends, where someone is, by chance, trapped in a desperate situation with terrible (or in this case acceptable?) consequences. The soundtrack is quite strange, but seems to be perfectly in harmony with the desolate and depressing environment. I saw the movie today during the International Film Festival in Ghent, and the audience (at least the people who accompanied me) all liked 'Blinded'. In a short interview we were told that the character of Rachel was based on a collection of Danish paintings owned by Michael Palin (!).