Blind Obsession (2001) User Reviews (4)

Don't Look Now...It's a Plot in Plain Sight!

[Zantara Xenophobe · 4/10 · 28 November 2001]

This review contains minor plot spoilers.

I got a chance to see `Blind Obsession' on Lifetime, a channel not known for showing the greatest of films; it's usually the channel that collects all those forgotten TV movies with titles that sound like this: `A Slice of Life: The Lorena Bobbitt Story,' or something along those lines. I tend to watch more television shows on Lifetime than movies, but I thought I would give `Blind Obsession' a chance. I've always liked Roxana Zal, and they even cast Ken Kercheval in there. Other suspense movies about the impaired, like `Blink' and `Hear No Evil,' weren't that good, but I didn't think this would be less enjoyable. Unfortunately, it was, turning into little more than a `Fatal Attraction' clone after a mere twenty-five minutes.

The movie has two focal characters. One is Rebecca Rose (Megan Gallagher), a woman who helps teach the newly bind how to adjust to their new impairment. She lives with her younger sister Belinda (Zal), who is missing a few marbles, presumably dating back to past abuse from their wicked uncle. Belinda never leaves the house, and Rebecca has no other outside contacts, so their worlds revolve around each other. The other focal character is Jack Fletcher (Brad Johnson), a policeman. One night, he and his partner (Kercheval) are involved in a shoot-out, and shrapnel from a bullet gets lodged in Jack's skull, hitting an optic nerve and taking away his sight. Rebecca is sent to help Jack adjust, and she instantly (a little too quick, in my opinion) falls in love with him. When Jack gets out of the hospital, Rebecca makes daily, unauthorized visits to train Jack, and she secretly gets a duplicate house key made and sneaks back into the house after their daily lesson. This voyeurism happens without warning; there is no hint that something is psychologically wrong with Rebecca until this happens. She happens to be in the house when a thug comes to kill Jack, and Rebecca instead kills the thug and hides the body. Then as Rebecca's involvement with Jack becomes stronger, she raises the eyebrows of both Belinda and Jack's girlfriend. It is all set up for a rather anti-climactic ending.

I was very disappointed in this movie. It wasn't the acting, because much of the acting was fairly decent. Zal displayed the best bits of acting, especially in a scene where she tests her sister when she slits her own wrist. It was the best scene in the movie, but that is comparing it to rather dull stuff. Kercheval was wasted, disappearing fairly quickly for the entire middle section of the film. I wanted more Zal and Kercheval and less `Fatal Attraction,' but when I finally got my wish at the end, the movie got messy and went out with a whimper. And not a very good whimper, as I questioned the movie's stance on Rebecca's character and annoyed by the movie not revealing to us Jack's thoughts on everything that happened previously. Mostly, I am sad that this movie is derivative. Unlike Jack, you can see almost everything that is coming a mile away. This is not a bad movie, but it could have been so much more had it seen the error of its ways. Zantara's score: 4 out of 10

Not Only Blind But Dumb Also

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 16 November 2003]

!!!!! SPOILERS !!!!!

Cop Jack Fletcher is blinded in the field of duty and his therapist Rebecca starts becoming obsessed with him . This plot has all the hallmarks of one of those thrillers from the early 1990s about everyman characters being stalked by a nutter , but it`s not the old hat plot that destroys this movie it`s the lapses in logic and the plot holes . Take for example the scene where a hit man turns up at Jack`s house . Rebecca saves Jack`s life by sticking a kitchen knife into the hit man , Jack can hear what`s going but being blind he can`t see what`s happening which means when he mentions this to people they think he`s deluded , but if you stab someone won`t there be blood everywhere ? It takes some swallowing that Rebecca can drag a body all the way to her car without anyone noticing . There`s also no explanation that the hit man knew where Jack lived either , in fact there`s several instances where characters arrive at another character`s house even though it`s very unlikely that they would know where the character lived . This is most obvious at the end where Jack`s cop buddy Harrison finds a knife used as a murder weapon and drives straight to Rebecca`s house which led me to ask a ) What makes him think Rebecca is implicated ? and b ) how would he know where Rebecca lives ?

So as you can guess I didn`t enjoy this illogical and predictable thriller . The only real surprise at the end was that Rebecca and Bedelia were indeed sisters and not as I was expecting the one and the same metaphysical entity

A compelling little film, in spite of plot deficiencies.

[fgunther · 7/10 · 15 September 2002]

**This review contains some spoilers**

I'll start by saying I gave this movie a 7 out of 10, largely on the strength of Megan Gallagher's beautiful performance. This actress carries her years very well, and the fine character lines on her face only add to the depth and maturity of her portrayal here.

The film begins with P.I. Jack Fletcher and his partner getting involved in a shootout, during which a bullet fragment `grazes' Fletcher's optic nerve, leaving him blind. (Naturally, any daytime drama fan knows what will happen later on, with a `graze'). Rebecca Rose (Megan) becomes his trainer in coping with sightlessness, and is obviously immediately, intensely attracted to Fletcher.

We also meet Rebecca's sister, Bedelia (the lovely Roxana Zal), who is a total recluse since an incident of childhood incest rape. Bea (Bedelia's nickname) is totally dependent upon Beca, unable to function in the world of reality, and feels terrifyingly threatened whenever Beca gets seriously involved with a man. All of this is laid out elliptically, almost in passing, and the writers refreshingly give the viewers credit for enough intelligence to put things together for themselves.

Beca obviously has some problems of her own, as she begins to spy on Fletcher, taking advantage of his blindness to be near him, in his house, without his knowledge (or does he suspect it, perhaps; some vague hints are offered in his behavior). She is there, hidden, when a thug comes for a revenge killing, and kills the heavy with a knife to the back while he is speaking to Fletcher. (One knife stroke, in the back, through ribs and all, directly into the heart(?), and the guy croaks on the spot - uh huh). She then drags the body out of the house, and dumps it, while Fletcher is trying to figure out what's going on, from the sounds alone.

She continues to spy on Fletcher. In a well-done scene, she noisily closes the front door of his house, staying inside. Fletcher begins looking to the door, clearly sensing something, and begins moving toward her. Then he passes a vase of fresh flowers, and picks them up to sniff, looking like a man who's found an answer. The shift and play of expressions on Beca's face, from nervousness, to fear and then relief, is totally gripping, as she clearly realizes he smells her perfume.

There's also an ex-girl friend of Jack's, who still has feelings for him, and begins to expose Beca's misdeeds.

All these elements come to a head in the film's climax, which I won't reveal, except to say it's not completely obvious; there are a few surprises at the end. But, throughout, Megan Gallagher gives a compelling, gripping performance, and carries me right along with her. It's a shame she has never found her niche again, since her days with Dabney Coleman.

Predictable, but a real pleasure to watch

[nicholas.rhodes · 26 May 2002]

I really enjoyed this film. True the end is fairly predictable but that doesn't bother me ! The stunning beauty of the two "sisters" is more than enough to save the film and is all the more effective because both are psychopaths (one tends to imagine psychopaths as ugly - this is the opposite and the result is more frightening). Picture quality is excellent but there again it should be as the film dates from 2001 ! I would dearly liked Rebecca to have married the blind policement but Amercian political correctness means that she must die in the end. So really no one benefits ! Apart from that, well worth watching !