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Hysterical Blindness | Year: 2002 Classification: Drama Directed: - Mira Nair Quiet Desperation..... The performances in this movie are brilliant, but, it also gave me the creeps. I say this because it was so dead-on accurate in portraying the neighborhood I grew up in, and, the lives of "quiet desperation" that many there lived. At the time in which this movie takes place, I was working in a factory in upstate New York. The mentality displayed in this picture, of "you're born, ya work, ya party...." is how most of the people I was around at that time unquestioningly and comformingly lived their lives. I am not crazy about most actors today, but, Uma Thurman and Juliette Lewis have always been two of the few exceptions. In this made for HBO film, they immerse themselves so totally in their co-dependant characters that there is not a sign of a *star*, nor that they are performing...they simply "are" the two lost, searching souls with nowhere to go, and no way to get there if they did. The '80's were such a tacky decade, and these girls have it all "down". Watching them flounder, knowing that they want more out of life than their circumstances have thus far allowed, but not having a clue as to how to begin change, is painful to behold. As are their sad attempts at intimacy and self validation with disinterested men who want nothing more than quick sex. Watching Uma Thurman almost beg a creepy, cavalier one night stand who's just using her to "talk to me..." is heartbreaking. When she asks the bartender "what's wrong with me?", it is not a casual comment, but, a cry from the depths. Gena Rowlands is wonderful also as Thurman's waitress mom, who probably was an early training ground for her daughters bad habits, and lack of self esteem. These are not bad people, but, they want desperately to connect, and just don't know how. Also watching Thurman's character, after another night of rejection, crawl into bed with her mother in a desperate and pained reaching out for unconditional comfort, is a very emotional moment. This movie is about depressing lives, but, is ultimately hopeful, and shows that change, growth, and possibilities can sometimes begin with something as simple as a new living room set. And, the slow realization that, while we're all vulnerable, true happiness beg pheavals. He and his blowzy producer, (Jessica Lange), are unable to get any of their A-List performers to star. Paul McCartney, Springsteen, Billy Joel all just say "no." The only available musician willing to perform is Jack Fate, (played by guess who?), who has to be sprung from jail before he can show up. There is an underlying story about a despicable, dying dictator who looks just like Saddam Hussein, (Richard Sarafian), and could be Jack Fate's father. It really does er Gap" and then "A Change of Seasons" and "A New Beginning." Start a Christy newbie with the first few series epi lSmall>http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0002HOEQ2.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg Buy Hysterical Blindness at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Hysterical Blindness Search with the Priority Search Engine on Hysterical Blindness This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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