Blindness (2008)

1.5 out of 5 Stars
An entrancing novel that, alas, turned into a horribly pretentious and LONG film. If I hadn't previously read the novel, I probably would have only given the film 1 star (rather than the 1.5 I am designating). The film is so obvious and preachy. Yes, we *know* human nature is skewed. We *know* that our society is 'blind' to human interaction. (though actually Jose Saramago's novel manages to keep the idea of 'allegorical blindness' understated and thought provoking with his minimal use of punctuation). This film is anything but. The allegory is 'in your face' and embarrassingly obvious. The film (even with it's ridiculously long running time) left out the scenes in the novel that I found most meaningful, and the director almost made a mockery of the rain and baptismal metaphors. The only good part of this abhorant film? Julianne Moore gives her role as 'the seeinging wife' an heir or realism and honesty. She makes the script's weak dialogue sound believable.

Savage Grace

3.5 out of 5 Stars
This was a disturbing and upsetting film. I never read the novel nor was particularly familiar with the true story it was based on. As a film, it seemed 'abridged' and the script felt very rushed. This could have been a film that was a disturbing portrayal of incest, money, homosexuality, corruption, and mental health issues, but instead the script was choppy and it never gave the viewer a full understanding of the motivations of any of the characters. Still, I give it 3 stars for the acting. Julianne Moore was chilling.