An affecting, modest comedy-drama starring Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving in their 20s, shattering my preconceived worldview that they were both born middle aged.
This will make a wonderful addition to my representations of people with disabilities list, one that directly confronts the challenges of a disability, how having a disability simultaneously isolates a person while placing them in a state of dependence, and how their vulnerabilities strains the integrity of their caretakers, leaving them open to predation and deceit.
"Why would I lie to you?" "Because you can"
Martin is a blind man. His blindness has made him bitter and hateful. He's fully aware he is dependent on the honesty of strangers, acquaintances, family members, and friends, but he's also aware he's been deceived by those he's dependent on. Fueling his frustration is his inability to prove when he's being lied to. This in tandem with the fact that he also knows he's being lied, but only sometimes, and he can never know when. Martin forms a friendship, built entirely on trust, with a man named Andy, due to his succinct and honest descriptions of the photographs Martin takes around his city. Martin's utter dependence on Andy's honesty is the foundational pillar under which their friendship is built, as the descriptions Martin places in Braille on the backs of his photographs are dependent on Andy's total honesty, honesty that is put to the test when a love triangle forms out of Andy's infatuation with Martin's housekeeper, and Martin's housekeeper's obsession with making Martin dependent upon her.
In the mix, exploitation becomes the common theme. Celia exploits Andy's infatuation with her to drive a wedge between Andy and Martin's friendship, Martin exploits Celia'a infatuation with him because it's one of the few powers he has in his life, and both Andy and Celia exploits Martin's disability each to their own ends, Celia to make for herself a romantic partner utterly dependent upon her, and Andy in a bid to simultaneously preserve his friendship while pursuing the forbidden woman. But then the ending of this movie legitimately surprised me, poignantly breaking the cycle of exploitation and ending on a note of forgiveness, with each of the characters in this triangle recognizing the hurt they've caused each other and making things right, delivering an ending far more uplifting than I could've expected from means this modest.
"Everybody lies. But not all the time, and that's the point."
The unexpected emotional wallop this film packs is of course aided by the surprising amount of chemistry between Weaving and Crowe. The groundwork for their friendship is truly delightful. All of the antics ensuing the drive-in sequence truly made me feel like I was making memories and sharing laughs with a good friend. It's wild just how well their on screen pairing works.
This will make a wonderful addition to my representations of people with disabilities list, one that directly confronts the challenges of a disability, how having a disability simultaneously isolates a person while placing them in a state of dependence, and how their vulnerabilities strains the integrity of their caretakers, leaving them open to predation and deceit.
"Why would I lie to you?" "Because you can"
Martin is a blind man. His blindness has made him bitter and hateful. He's fully aware he is dependent on the honesty of strangers, acquaintances, family members, and friends, but he's also aware he's been deceived by those he's dependent on. Fueling his frustration is his inability to prove when he's being lied to. This in tandem with the fact that he also knows he's being lied, but only sometimes, and he can never know when. Martin forms a friendship, built entirely on trust, with a man named Andy, due to his succinct and honest descriptions of the photographs Martin takes around his city. Martin's utter dependence on Andy's honesty is the foundational pillar under which their friendship is built, as the descriptions Martin places in Braille on the backs of his photographs are dependent on Andy's total honesty, honesty that is put to the test when a love triangle forms out of Andy's infatuation with Martin's housekeeper, and Martin's housekeeper's obsession with making Martin dependent upon her.
In the mix, exploitation becomes the common theme. Celia exploits Andy's infatuation with her to drive a wedge between Andy and Martin's friendship, Martin exploits Celia'a infatuation with him because it's one of the few powers he has in his life, and both Andy and Celia exploits Martin's disability each to their own ends, Celia to make for herself a romantic partner utterly dependent upon her, and Andy in a bid to simultaneously preserve his friendship while pursuing the forbidden woman. But then the ending of this movie legitimately surprised me, poignantly breaking the cycle of exploitation and ending on a note of forgiveness, with each of the characters in this triangle recognizing the hurt they've caused each other and making things right, delivering an ending far more uplifting than I could've expected from means this modest.
"Everybody lies. But not all the time, and that's the point."
The unexpected emotional wallop this film packs is of course aided by the surprising amount of chemistry between Weaving and Crowe. The groundwork for their friendship is truly delightful. All of the antics ensuing the drive-in sequence truly made me feel like I was making memories and sharing laughs with a good friend. It's wild just how well their on screen pairing works.