[.ca] At First Sight (Widescreen/Full Screen)

From Amazon.com:
The tagline states, "Only love can bring you to your senses." Well, your senses have to be pretty dulled to love At First Sight. On paper the story--based on the writings of medical writer extraordinaire Oliver Sacks (Awakenings)--is intriguing: a blind man regains sight after surgery yet can never connect with what he sees, including a lovely new girlfriend. Indeed, maybe blind was better. From such interesting stuff (and a talented cast) comes a tepid love story and an unconvincing drama. Val Kilmer plays Virgil, a serene resort worker who plays hockey in the dark and is the best masseur this side of the Catskills. Onto his table comes Amy, a bone-weary NYC architect (Mira Sorvino) who cries the first time Virgil does his magic. Instead of a voyage into the world of blindness, Amy's first instinct is to take Virgil to an eye doctor who can restore sight (Bruce Davison). Virgil receives sight, crumbling the trust between him and Amy. The clichés start building up and by the time Amy is wooed by her ex-husband (Steven Weber), her boss no less, one's patience wears thin. The medical curiosities of the story--Virgil can see an item but can't grasp what it is until he touches it--do not translate well on screen. The film's liveliest character is Nathan Lane as a teacher of the blind. A scene with Virgil that gets to the heart of his ailment is so filled with spontaneity, one wonders if it was scripted or simply Lane's own extemporaneous dialogue. After an admirable start as a director (Guilty by Suspicion), Oscar-winning producer Irwin Winkler has not been able to put cinematic highs or believable angst into his films (The Net, Night in the City). At First Sight may look good, but it is blind where it counts. --Doug Thomas

Val Kilmer is Wonderful:
There were parts of this movie that will make you wish that you were blind(and deaf) these are just all the parts that Mira Solvino was around for, I'm sorry she just can't do romanitic commidies. Kilmer was great playing a blind man who is given his sight and has no idea how to react to it. His performance at least is something everyone should see.

RIVETTING AND UNFORGETTABLE !:
A sentimental true life story.Simply wonderful and touching. I really felt sorry for "Virgil(Val Kilmer)" but thanks God things went at least a bit better for him in the end.

Quite enjoyable. I truly enjoyed this movie.........:
Based on a true story of a blind man who regains eyesight and is able to see. This movie is beautifully written. Although I have not read the book or original material related to the movie, I would definitely say that it is an enjoyable couple's movie, a movie about the bonds of love despite all the "handicap stigmas," and how a couple finds a deeper meaning to their lives. Good movie, worth the viewing.......... Diego R. Rodriguez Chicago, Illinois

Kilmer is amazing:
Kilmer gives a caring and powerful performance as a masagge therapist whose blind and encounters the lovely Mira Sorvino and they fall romantically in love, its just great, then Kilmer goes and gets his blind eyes fixed and then he can see but hes not adapted to the world with its shapes and sizes and then he goes blind again at the end. you cant take your eyes of Kilmer, you really care for his character and what hes going threw and Nathan Lane is great as the blind school teacher.

I guess this is a better Oliver Sack's story made into movie:
I love Oliver Sack's writings. He is a real intellectual who also writes beautiful prose about strange yet beautiful world of neurology. His books were made into a few movies and they were more or less a disappointment. I think this one might be a better one (especially compare to Awakening), although I can't help hoping that one day a geat director will turn one of Dr. Sack's hauntingly beautiful story into a fine movie. One minor thing about Sorvino. I found her to be adorable and loveable. However her state of the art make-up was very distracting. I know she is supposed to be a sophisticated new yorker but her $1000/hour makeup-artist perfected face (especially her multi colored eye shadows and Always perfected painted red mouth) in every frame of the movie distracted from her fine acting ability. Did anyone else felt the same way? maybe it was just me....:)