At First Sight

Rating:
Summary: I know the real the real life version's of these two people.
Review: I live in a suburb of Atlanta, Ga. I work at this store in my town and the real Virgil and Amy Jennings come in there all the time. The wife (Mrs. Jennings) has a web site that she always mentions to all of us all the time that is Jenningsart.com. She always talks about making her eggs and how she paints them and stuff like that. She always reminds us that one is in the White House and another is in the Smithsonian museum. She is nice and her husband Virgil (who is blind) is nice too, but what is so funny is how neither her nor her husband look like Val Kilmer or Mira Sorvino. They could have never looked or acted like either one of the Actors.
Mrs. Jennings is constantly making reprints of pictures of Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino's visit to there house a couple of years ago. Everyone I know who has worked at the store I work at has at one time been in possession of one of the pictures because Mrs. Jennings loves to make copies of them and pass them out. I guess it was her 15 minutes, and she's gonna spread it out into 1500 more. :). They are both good people I guess, but my main point here is how I experienced first hand how "hollywood" and most of the entertainment business can't stop ruining good stories. They refuse to belive that real life can be interesting. Instead they have to cast two well know actors to play two people who are nothing like them. They just want to sell sell sell. Which I guess isn't such a bad thing except there comes a point in time where everything becomes diluted and worn out and that is when people start looking for something real, and I hope it's soon because if I see another weird Tom Cruise movie or another remake of an old classic like the Spider Man or Scooby Doo movie that has just come out, I think I will just stop watching television and stop going to the movies all together.
Thats all.
Thanks.
D. J.

Rating:
Summary: Love is Blind
Review: Charming little movie about an architect (Mira Sorvino) whom falls in love with a blind Massage therapist (Val Kilmer) whilst on holliday at a weekend retreat. This is a good movie to watch if you are in a "Sleepless in Seattle" mood or a "When Harry meet Sally" frame of mind.

Rating:
Summary: Thought-Provoking Story with Good Cast and Overlong Script
Review: "At First Sight" delivers the basics of romantic story, but takes too long time to tell its story, so you might want to cut the tape of your own copy to make its running time much shorter. Fortunately, the two leads are very likable characters (and the film credits tell us it is based on a true story), and the chances are you never feel wasted your time.

It's about blind Virgil (Val Kilmer), who loves hockey-playing, and New Yorker Amy (Mira Sorvino), who meets Vigil at a hotel, and falls in love with him. As she found an article on the possibility of restoring sight, she suggests he take the chance (actually, the film tells that very few people had ragained their sight after long time of blindness). The operation succeeds, but it turns out much harder than he expected for Virgil to handle the situation with the newly given power of sight. For example, he cannot tell an real apple from a picture of an apple; or he cannot feel the distance between him and what he sees, so things coming in his direction would inevitably hit him in the head. Now he had to learn "seeing." The story is very good.

However, the script is too uneven. We don't need any episodes about Amy's ex-husband; though as Virgil's sister Kelly McGillis shows good performance, she sometimes delays the speed of the film, and seems to tell us too obvious things about Virgil's life. And most of all, the film is making a potentially tragic nature of the original story too sentimental. But as I said before, Kilmer and Sorvino both make such an amiable couple that you may forgive these shortcomings as the film goes on. And wait for always reliable Nethan Lane as a slightly eccentric therapist. He never fails to deliver the good moment though this time a little short. "At First Sight" is an agreeable (though overlong) film.

If you're interested in the medical aspect of the film. read Dr. Oliver Sachs's book "An Anthoropologist on Mars." The film's material originally comes from one of its seven tales called 'To See and Not See.'

Rating:
Summary: I can't believe it's good
Review: Never like Val kimmer, but I think he is good in this movie. I did not go to see this at the theater becuase I thought it would be a normal boring love story, now I think differently. The best things in the films is the story, very drama and inspiring and sexy. Moods and tones of the whole story is welled-done excepted that it seems too rush with lots of story to tell in 1.30 hours. I think this movie is as good as "When harry met Sally", "Sleepless in seattles", "Great expectation" and "How to make a american quilts", if you are into this kind of movies. It's stranger that this movie did not do well and fews people know of this. They don't even put special features in the DVD. I was hoping for the deleted scences. Good casting both Sorvino and Kelly McGillis. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Rather dissapointing.
Review: Well I'd lie if I said other-wise. I like almost all of the Val Kilmer movies except this one. It sort of dragged, and wern't very happy durring the whole thing. It's a drama I know, but I guess I was dissapionted. It was dark and gloomy, and always raining. Of course that was a big part of the story but I hate drissles. I wont go so far as to say it was disgustingly boring, but it was close. Too close, so do what-ever, just don't say I didn't warn ya.

Rating:
Summary: 4 STARS FOR VAL
Review: Val Kilmer stars as Virgil Adamson, a blind man who is obviously willing to do anything for sex. So willing, that after being blind for more then twenty years, he agrees to an experimental surgery to restore his sight. The reason, Amy, a self-absorbed control freak, played with no visible emotion by Mira Sorvino. Note to Ms. Sorvino: If you can't find chemistry with Val Kilmer, you might want to check your pulse. You may have stopped breathing. That's not all, poor Virgil has a lifeless sister, Jen (Kelly McGillis), and a father, (Ken Howard) who makes you wish Val still had the guns he used in "Tombstone". Amy's ex, (Steven Webber) is annoying and classless. Virgil is a complex, intelligent, and witty character and Kilmer's portrayal is flawless. There is a charming performance by Nathan Lane as a sight therapist that leaves you wanting more. Aside from Lane, Val is shining alone in this film. Watch it all the way through once, and if you want to see it again, just fast forward through any scene Val isn't in, and you'll enjoy the film.

Rating:
Summary: Length not a real issue in the end.
Review: In watching "At First Sight," I found myself somewhat put off by the length that the movie takes in delivering its story. I was also vastly moved by the emotion and exceptional talent that the story and the actors have in creating it to life. In reaching the end of the movie, I found that even though it did seem lengthy in certain places, I was more than willing to watch the two incredible leads take us through an emotionally empowering experience that will have you seeing things in new lights.

Based on a story by Oliver Sacks about a real-life couple, the story begins when construction designer Amy decides to take a vacation from work and go to a health and beauty spa for the weekend. Driving along snowy roads, she arrives that same night, and the next morning, she goes in for a therapeutical massage. Not only is the massage therapist a blind man named Virgil, but he is also able to make her cry not five minutes into the session, and from this moment on, the two become inseparable. Upon returning to the city, Amy comes across the name of a doctor who wishes to restore site to someone willing to be the first for the surgery.

Up until this point, the story has already built up a momentus amount of emotions, most of them happy in relation to the budding relationship between Amy and Virgil, and a small amount of grief when we realize the pain the Virgil went through in the early years of his life as his father tried everything to get his son to see. Virgil's simple yet complex view upon the world is, at times, tear-jerking, especially in the abandoned building of his town where he and Amy escape to listen to the rain. This is one of the most moving moments of the film, because it shows that even though he is a blind man, he can take something as simple as rain and read so much into what he hears from it.

Virgil agrees to go through with the surgery, with some hesitation. He has normal fears about the repercussions of the procedure, as well as feeling that his life is normal the way it is, and is not hampered by his disability. After the surgery, when the bandages are removed, everyone involved in his life realizes that it is going to take so much more for Virgil to get used to the ability of sight because of his life's experiences as a blind man. He has no sense of depth perception, color, or what things are. He is used to feeling things and reading Braille, and soon, Amy realizes that it is more taxing on her life than she originally thought it would be.

The basis for this story is truly moving, and it makes for a very emotional experience that packs pure satisfaction in matters of the heart. The way in which this disability affects these two peoples' lives is truly authentic, going through situations from Virgil's learning to read and comprehend different aspects of his vision while Amy goes through emotions of stress and heartache until she comes to the realization that Virgil is the only person in her life that she truly needs.

There is an instant connection between these two characters that the film is able to keep solidly fused throughout the entire plot. Amy and Virgil are able to make it through good times and bad, and their emotion becomes the centerpiece for the entire story. I found myself crying in places I never expected to, laughing in all the right places, and feeling nothing but happiness and an uplifted spirit after it was all over. We are able to feel everything that the characters feel, while also going through the experiences and emotions they do right along with them.

The running time for this movie may seem a bit tedious for those unwilling to sit through a long love story, and some scenes do tend to drag out a bit. It takes a full hour before Virgil is able to see, and that first hour is spent going through the motions of the building romance, the hesitation, the aspect of living life blind. If the operation had taken place at least fifteen minutes earlier, then the film would not be hampered by this. Nonetheless, the second half of the movie is worth waiting for, and if you're a true romance buff, then you won't mind watching the whole thing and enjoying it.

There is a remarkable cast for this film, with some big name, award-winning stars leading the way. Val Kilmer is a truly magnificent Virgil, and while he plays the physical aspect of being blind quite authentically, he is also able to embody emotion and strength into his character's mental state. Mira Sorvino plays one of her best roles ever as Amy, the highly emotional woman who comes into Virgil's life. This performance marks her as one of the most believable and true actresses of our time, and she proves this when she cries and laughs and expresses her love for Virgil in various ways. Kelly McGillis plays Virgil's sister, who becomes slightly jealous of the fact that her brother no longer depends on her with Amy in his life. Nathan Lane brings his wit and charm to the movie as a teacher for the blind who reverses his teachings in trying to help Virgil understand what he is seeing.

"At First Sight" tells a harrowing story of the receipt of the gift of sight, and that it's a gift that takes getting used to. Through the experiences of the characters, we learn that to see with the eyes is nothing compared to when we see things with the human heart.

Rating:
Summary: Have you ever listened to the rain.....
Review: Yes, this is a very emotional story and I believe it was based on a true story. If you watch this movie on the surface, you may actually agree with some of the other reviews. If you look deeper into the story, this is about two people who awaken from a sleep. One from blindness and the other from unawareness.

Amy (Mira Sorvino) has a stressful job and seeks refuge at a spa. There she meets Virgil (Val Kilmer) who not only helps her relax, he helps her view the world differently. Amy becomes very attracted to Virgil. His blindness is not a barrier between them because they find that they relate to one another on a much deeper level.

Amy wants Virgil to try to regain his site and miraculously his site is restored. The only question is....how long will it last?

This movie deals with some deep issues which I rarely see brought to the screen. We rarely look up at the sky in our busy lives. We take so much for granted. What this movie succeeds in doing is making you realize how much there is in your life to truly be grateful for. Mira Sorvino is such a delightful actress and it was a treat to see Val Kilmer in a romantic movie. I think romance suits them both.

You will cry for most of the movie. It is really emotional. Sometimes you want to feel deeply and sometimes you want to laugh. This movie will make you feel as deeply as any movie can.

The next time it rains, close your eyes and listen. You will be amazed at how much you don't hear when you see the rain. It is only when you close your eyes that you will hear every drop. Every drop you cry will be very healing. In a way, a massage for the soul.

Rating:
Summary: I agree, moved too fast. Could have been MUCH better.
Review: It was a decent storyline, but it DID move too fast, and was not what I expected. :(

Rating:
Summary: Very bad indeed!
Review: this movie is not a good movie! Lifetime may, possibly, have less bathetic movies than this one! There is no genuine care displayed between the characters, it's a movie that comes off way too much as only that, just a movie, and a sappy one at that! It's like, I continue to watch the movie because you feel sympathy for Mira's and Val's characters but you constantly wonder why you're feeling sympathy because there is no depth to their characters, they're paper cut and far too Hollywoodish! I read one review that was commenting on Val's weird grin that he displayed through the whole movie, I concur, and it was very annoying! I thought to myself: just because this guy is blind why then, therefore, does he have to have a speech impediment? Is that really necessary? Was his weird speaking pattern and bizzare smirk really necessary? Indeed, both of these actors have played in much better movies than this! Yikes, stay away, this movie gives me a nauseating feeling!