Seth Quinn 5.7 ! I can't believe how underrated this movie is. This is genuine,powerful drama. The first segment highlights the courtship of Amy and Virgil. It went well and stomped somewhat familiar ground and we thought it would pace the movie into expected and nice conclusion. The middle segment dealt with the operation and how Virgil had to retrain his brain to new-found vision as adult. ***SPOILER*** then the last segment makes an unexpected,tragic and cruel turn. If it was gut- wrenching to watch imagine how the real life "Virgil" for whom this true story was based on must have felt. Then the epilogue and closing remarks about the real "Amy" and "Virgil". This is powerful stuff. Val Klimer I thought was as action kick-butt guy only - was I wrong! He intelligently plays the first blind Virgil who had reconciled himself, then as the sighted Virgil who had to relearn everything as an adult, and lastly the at-peace Virgil again when he went blind again. In between sighted and then blindness he saw his older sister for first time, commented how beautiful she was and how she had given up life to take care of him, having both been abandoned by their runaway dad. His relationship with Amy is more complicated. He needs her but wants to have some Independence, while Amy is all loving and supportive. To provide some irony Amy had brief moment close to submitting to Duncan, the scheming ex-husband who wants them back together again. But it was too brief a moment and Amy affirmed her love to Virgil by abruptly breaking away from Duncam. We see these characters in real life. They are around us. They are us. Just like having doubts about Val Klimer, I had initial doubt about Mira Sorvino who too often associates with light comedy. Here She was caring and devoted to Virgil and shows she never lost sight of who she is. Kelly McGillis' protective, self- sacrificing big sister was believable. "I spent my whole life looking down, checking for pot holes so Virgil wouldn't fall in," she said. The medical staff was convincing. Ken Howard's brief but important appearance delivered the counterpoint. The script was intelligently written and many details about how the blinds adjust to their environment display careful research. This is the movie if you are in the mood for a well-acted and powerful drama.

filmbay 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. Benjamin Miller, Filmbay Editor.

xredgarnetx An almost perfect date movie, AT FIRST SIGHT tells the largely true tale of a man, blind from an early age, who risks one last operation in an attempt to restore his sight. Val Kilmer, always an acquired taste, plays the blind guy. Mira Sorvino, looking an awful lot like the older daughter on FAMILY TIES, plays his newest love interest who encourages him to try the tricky operation. The film is long, but the romance leading up to Sorvino's determination to get Kilmer onto the operating table one more time, is strongly compelling. The film has a sensuous side, as Kilmer is a professional masseuse and has a very erotic massage scene involving a nearly naked Sorvino. Veteran actress Kelly McGillis of TOP GUN fame is aboard as Kilmer's overly protective older sister. If you can stand frequent closeups of Kilmer's flabby lips and googly eyes, AT FIRST SIGHT is hardly the worst chick flick ever made.

pzilliox I have conflicting feelings about different elements of this movie.Great premise. It's uniqueness was what kept me "in the film." -- Val Kilmer: A workmanlike effort to look and act the part, both as a blind man and as recently-sighted person. Forced storyline doesn't give him much time to develop believable reactions to plot elements. -- Mira Sorvino: As beautiful and likable as ever. Nice subtlety to her expressions and inflections helps us suspend our disbelief now and again during the film. -- Supporting cast: Kelly McGillis chews the scenery. Nathan Lane always does a good job, but isn't on screen much. Steven Weber is a bit wooden (again, mostly the script's fault) but manages to be a suitably smarmy ex-husband. -- Camera-work: Most of the scenes are visually rather pretty. Given the challenges of showing the POV of a disoriented, newly-sighted person, not a bad effort -- Plot: Sloppy, with forced emotions, mismatched scenes, unnecessary subplots, and loose ends. -- Dialogue: Horribly contrived and stilted. Lots of unrealistic monologuing. -- Storyline: prior to his operation, most of the plot elements seem lifted from old Longstreet episodes. The small town is completely cardboard. In New York after operation, things are less cliché, more inventive, but still a struggle.OVERALL AVERAGE: 5. Not great. May be worth seeing because of the unique premise, but if you skip it, you're not missing much.