Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD, Digital HD.
Synopsis: Gina and husband James have an almost perfect marriage. After being blinded as a child in a nearly fatal car crash that claimed her parent’s lives, Gina depends on James to be her eyes–a dependence that appears to solidify their passionate relationship. She sees her world in her own vivid imagination and with help from James’ descriptions of daily life. When Gina is given the opportunity to have a corneal transplant and regains her vision, their life and relationship is upended. (VVS Films)
Starring: Blake Lively, Jason Clarke, and Ahna O’Reilly
Writers: Marc Forster and Sean Conway
Director: Marc Forster
Rating: 18A (Canada)/R (United States)
Running Time: 106mins
Trailer:
The main problem with All I See Is You is that you’ll more or less see everything coming before it happens which was not that much to begin with. The story is about a married couple named Gina (Lively) and James (Clarke). Both Gina and James’ relationship was a co-dependent one with James assisting Gina who had been blind since childhood. Because of their co-dependent relationship, her perspective was dependent mostly on James. For the longest time, this was enough for them and perhaps James preferred it that way as it kept him in control of their relationship.
Of course this wouldn’t last as a corneal transplant for Gina allowed her to see it again. It was this newfound perspective that led Gina to question her life and her marriage as she saw the truth about what was really happening. With this new independence, it meant that James was losing control of their marriage. The problem with this was that not much happened before she regained her sight to indicate that her life and marriage was that bad to begin with and not that much happened after she regained her sight either.
There was definitely friction between the two but it was one-sided at best with James’ insecurity not being able to handle the new Gina. The story didn’t go nearly far enough with the conflict. They were trying to get back at one another, however, we never got a sense that anything they did really mattered as nothing changed for either since both never faced any consequences for their actions. The film tried to depict this as a thriller though at that point, it became hard to get invested in these characters or care about their outcome. The stupid ending didn’t help.
The acting was decent all around although they couldn’t save the mediocre and predictable story. Both Gina and James were not the most likable characters and Lively and Clarke couldn’t quite overcome that. Lively may not look like a blind person but Gina learning to see again was somewhat compelling to watch. James was just as dependent on Gina as she was dependent on him and that was pretty much it. Was he good or bad? Clarke was fine though his performance reflected this as he wasn’t sure how to play the underdeveloped character.
Overall, this was a mediocre and predictable drama with a decent premise that quickly devolved as it tried to redeem its unlikable characters. That alongside the fact that not much happens make it a chore to watch but may appeal to fans of both lead actors.
Score: 5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
