Blind 2017 * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Michael Mailer
Year: 2017
Rated R
Rating: * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Demi Moore, Alec Baldwin, Dylan McDermott

2017's Blind is my latest review. Its opening scenes are intriguing. Then, Blind descends into yet another film in which the screenwriters become vague. Yes I'm talking about the details on how criminal characters are arrested, processed, and put through the almighty penal system. So OK, let's get all the puns out of the way shall we. There's basically no harm in "seeing" Blind. Natch.

Now in Blind, Robert Redford sings a song during the closing credits. That's right, Robert Redford. He's not one of Blind's producers, he doesn't star in Blind, and he's not behind the camera in any capacity. I mean how random is that?

Anyway, the story of Blind is as follows: Suzanne Dutchman (Demi Moore) and Mark Dutchman (Dylan McDermott) are a rich, married couple living in New York City. Mark, who's a crooked businessman, gets detained by police and thrown in jail. As Mark awaits trial, Suzanne also gets charged with knowing about her husband's illegal dealings. She's sentenced to community service and has to take care of a blind novelist named Bill Oakland (played by Alec Baldwin). Bill and Suzanne eventually have an affair all to the dismay of an angered Mark.

Blind, which proclaims that Brooklyn is the new Paris, is set to a backdrop similar to what Peter Glantz did when he directed 2014's The Longest Week. Some of Blind is tedious and some of it is professing. Ultimately, this askew dramatization gets mixed results from me.

The acting from the leads nevertheless, is pretty decent. Everything else around them, not so much. Baldwin and Moore have okay chemistry but McDermott is truly the standout. As a dude who cheats on his wife and cheats on the American public, no one does ruthless, cold, and cunning quite like Dylan McDermott. As for Baldwin, well he paints an admirable portrait channeling a persona who can't see five feet in front of him. However, he's no Al Pacino (see next paragraph). Alec Baldwin's way of playing a blind chap is to pick a spot on the wall and basically stare at it. Valiant try there Alec.

In conclusion, Blind at ninety-eight minutes, is caught somewhere between a hard drama, a direct-to-video trash exploit, and a catatonic love story. Directed by Michael Mailer with a screenplay by John Buffalo Mailer (Michael's younger brother), Blind is for the most part, kind of watchable. Still, Mailer's film is sort of uneven as it shifts its cinematic tones literally on a dime. Imagine watching something that feels like Scent of a Woman meets Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Then, add a TV movie feel to it. That's what you get with Blind. After watching it, I realized that Blind is a flick that doesn't really know what it wants to be. "Eyesight" isn't exactly 20/20. My rating: 2 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson