Movie Guys: ‘At First Sight’ looks at love’s complexities

Friday, Jan. 15, 1999 | 11:37 a.m.

* Grades: Jeff B; Dave B-.

* Starring: Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino, Kelly McGillis, Steven Webber, Bruce Davison, Ken Howard and Nathan Lane.

* Screenplay: Steve Levitt.

* Directed by: Irwin Winkler.

* Rated: PG-13 for sexual situations, brief nudity, adult themes and profanity.

* Running time: 124 minutes.

* Playing at: Regal Cinemas Sunset Station, Regal Cinemas Village Square, Century Desert, Cinedome 12 Henderson, Century Orleans 12, UA Rainbow Promenade, UA Showcase mall.

Synopsis:

"At First Sight" is a moving and faithful retelling of the real story of Virgil and Amy, and the challenges facing Virgil as he learns to see for the first time. It's based on a case documented by renowned physician/author Oliver Sacks in his best-selling book, "An Anthropologist on Mars."

Dave:

After a crowded holiday mix of movies at the theaters, the new year starts on a romantic note with a profound theme. "At First Sight" raises the question: What would it be like for an individual to gain something that we take for granted -- namely, our sight? This romantic drama follows Virgil Adamson (played by the versatile Val Kilmer) and his trapped existence within a dark world of which he is familiar only through touch, sound, taste and smell. His emotional support comes from his new-found love, Amy Benic (the beautiful Mira Sorvino), who must also adapt when Virgil finally gets the gift of sight. This is a challenging love story that would test any couple.

Jeff:

Amy is so selfish! She leaves New York to get away from it all, and heads to a remote mountain spa where she falls in love with a blind masseuse. What unfolds is a charming, romantic love story with Kilmer and Sorvino making a perfect match. They takes walks in the rain, skate on frozen ponds, and let's not forget the erotic massages, all of which overlook Virgil's obvious handicap -- he's blind.

Not being able to accept her future lover's disability, she searches the Internet for a surgery to help him see. She finds it, but who is she to decide his fate? Darkness is all Virgil has known since he was 3, and he's adapted beautifully. That is what makes Virgil ... Virgil.

He moves to New York with Amy, goes under the knife and is able to see, but at a price: His brain cannot process the pictures of the world, and he must learn how to see for the first time. Amy gets more than a boyfriend -- she gets a 175-pound baby boy.

Dave: Wait! Hold up here, Jeff! Selfish? You saw her as simply being selfish? I think you're selling her a bit short. Sure, Amy has her flaws, but I didn't see those flaws stemming from her acting as the self-centered, narrow-minded soul you think she is. The irony of the story is that Amy is emotionally blinded only because she is not able to relate to the life that Virgil has long accepted as his own.

After she researches his disability and learns of the hope of possibly helping him to see, she only acts in the way she could relate to, and that is having what we all, in one way or another, take for granted -- our sight.

Jeff:

That's my point! She's not happy with the man she has. We sighted people can't imagine losing our sight. This works in reverse. Sure, who wouldn't want to see? Virgil wants to see, but there's a price. He must learn how to look, as well as see, sobering facts pointed out by his therapist, played by Nathan Lane.

Virgil's sightless life is one of independence and self preservation. That all changes with one operation and he becomes a changed man, unable to read the emotional facial expressions of Amy, and unable to read or fill out a job application. He even tries to confront the father (Ken Howard) who abandoned him when he was a child because he couldn't see. Amy becomes so frustrated by Virgil's uneasy entrance into a sighted world, she turns for comfort to her business partner and ex-husband (Steven Webber). This woman can't decide what she wants.

Dave:

And she learns from her mistakes, as every human being does, Jeff! Didn't your alien leaders teach you that before they sent you here? Gee whiz, Jeff, you're tough.

Sorvino (who won an Oscar for her effervescent role in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite") plays Amy with a real earnestness that comes off completely natural. Her vulnerability is finally tested and she acts defensively, leading to a bad break-up with her once sightless better half. Once she realizes how her needs outweigh her wants, she is given the chance to redeem herself and regain her lost love. Now that is a love story.

Jeff:

Well, Dave, they say love is blind. Kilmer's performance is reminiscent of Tom Hanks' in "Big," where he views everything with wonder for the first time, such as a fish market laced with octopus and flowers with bright and vibrant colors. And, he must see the dark side of society when he and Amy pass a homeless man sleeping on the street. "You just walked by and didn't see him?" Virgil tells Amy. Still, Kilmer and Sorvino deliver the romance, despite the film turning into "Awakenings," the book by Dr. Oliver Sacks that was made into a movie. "At First Sight" is a perfect date movie.

Dave:

Plus, one should note the involvement of the Oscar-winning producer-turned-director Irwin Winkler, who is responsible for film classics that span from "Rocky" to "Goodfellas." Helming his third feature, Winkler delivers a touching story with rather predictable results. However, every element works toward the drama's advantage and, as Jeff said, the perfect date movie it is.

MOVIE BUZZ

"13" gets lucky: Kevin Costner's newest pet project, "13 Days," has found a new home a month after it was abandoned by Universal. Sony Pictures Entertainment is near a deal to take over the Cuban Missile Crisis drama, which is still set for a March start. Costner will play Kenny O'Donnell, an adviser in the Kennedy White House during the crisis. Phil Alden Robinson, who directed Costner in "Field of Dreams," will direct.

De Niro delirious?: Robert De Niro has made a career of playing some pretty mean dudes. But nothing he has done before could have prepared him for his latest role ... as Fearless Leader in the upcoming "Rocky & Bullwinkle" movie. An upcoming issue of TV Guide reports that De Niro has accepted the role of the villainous cartoon character who, in the film, attempts to hypnotize the American public into electing him president of the United States. No, we're not kidding.

"Dinner" with DeVito?: Danny DeVito may return to the director's chair with a remake of the classic comedy "The Man Who Came to Dinner." Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman has reportedly committed to the movie which, for those of you who don't know (and you should run right out and rent it if you don't), is about a pompous lecturer who injures himself and is forced to stay at the home of a wealthy family, where he makes life unbearable for all. The original 1941 film starred Bette Davis and Jimmy Durante.

NAME THAT FLICK

We're back from our holiday vacation and we hope you're ready for this week's quote. Who said this and in what film?: "I'll be taking these Huggies, and, uh, whatever cash you got." Does it sound familiar? If you think you know, call The Movie Guys Hotline at 225-9026 or e-mail us at movieguys5@aol.com. Be sure to spell your name and leave your daytime phone number, and if you're the first correct caller/e-mailer, we will print your name right here in our column for the entire Las Vegas Valley to read. See you next week!

THE MOVIE GUYS, starring Jeff Howard and Dave Neil, appears Fridays in the Sun (additional material provided by Thomas Feeney). You can also read their capsule reviews of movies in Las Vegas Weekly magazine. Plus, check them out online at lasvegassun.com/sun/sunlife/movies.

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