Customer Reviews

Hysterical Blindness

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie was unsettling and hard to watch...I mean that in the best way. Uma Thurman in particular was so pathetic, so clueless and vulnerable....just desperate for acceptance...it was hearbreaking. Watching her character feign happiness and mold herself and her ideals to whatever man happened to be paying attention to her at the moment had me riveted. I have never been so impressed with Uma Thurman...FABULOUS STORY...watch it.

Hysterical Blindness centers around three New Jersey women's search for love. Deb Miller (Uma Thurman) has major insecurity issues because her father abandoned her and her mother when she was thirteen, which made her really needy, neurotic and loose. Beth (Julliette Lewis) is a high school dropout and became an unwed mother at sixteen. Deb and Beth hang out at Ollies Bar, a seedy meat market where the guys are only out for one thing. They foolishly think that the man of their dreams with walk through its door. Beth's daughter Amber is more adult that she is and clearly the kid cramps her style. Deb's mother Virginia (Gena Rowlands), a waitress at Skyways Restaurant, finally finds love with Nick Piccolo (Ben Gazzara) only to loose it when Nick dies of a heart attack.

Director Mira Nair claims that this movie was a dark comedy however I found nothing comedic about it though it certainly was dark and very depressing. It ends with no real climax the characters just go with their lives as before. The best part of the movie was the romance between Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara. I think the actors did a good job in their roles but the director just didn't come across with the story. If you must, rent it don't buy it!

5 stars just because the performances in this movie are so good. Uma Thurman especially. She plays it soooo well. Juliette Lewis has a boring part but still she makes it look interesting. The mother character (whoops whats her name?) Is really good too. The story is of two women trying to find love in bars in New Jersey, set in the 80s. Uma is really screwed in the head and has a habit of hurting those who care about her. Shes really high strung. Juliette Lewis is her sweet friend. Uma lives with her mother (?) Who is also sweet and sensible.

If you grew up in the 80s and want a little nostalgia this movie is it.The girls in this story makes you feel ashmed to be watching them they are so out of touch with anybody else in this world.We all know people like this and wonder how they keep existing.The acting is excellant.The story gets a little slow at times but you won't be able to stop watching.

No, its not the most fascinating story, or the best 80s nostalgia movie. But it is well directed, and the acting is fan-freaking-tastic! I think that is why HBO hyped it. Uma's character, you just want to smack, her, hug, her , grab her and shake her! She is AWESOME in this role. Juliette Lewis played her part well. The actress who plays Uma's character's mother (forgive me I dont know her name) is also very very good. If you watch this movie, get by the fact that it is kind of boring, you see just how sweet the stars were in their roles. All totally convincing and perfectly getting the message across. Uma's character has serious issues and no shame. Lewis's character is a sweetheart who has over the years gotten used to her shameless, issue-laden friend. Uma's mother in the film is sweet and smart. I cant get over the acting in this movie, good direction too. Worthy of five stars regardless of the boring plot. DO NOT watch this is you want an 80s nostalgia flick (If you did, you are probably one of the people who gave this movie a bad review). Watch it for bitchin' performances and you will not be disappointed.

Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis and Gena Rowlands star in this small, constrained indie drama about three womens' lives unfolding in a desparate, bittersweet way. Thurman and Lewis (playing a single mother) are two circa 30-ish women who frequent their local bar, "Ollies," trolling for love, affection, and men with relationship potential. And boy are they fishing in the wrong sea! But they don't quite realize it, at least not for most of the film. The film's title "Hysterical Blindness" is a play on words which reflects the searching mostly in vain of the two young women in the film to find real love in a mostly deserted place, and also a description of an ailment which Thurman's character struggles with: under severe stress, she loses her vision, literally, and becomes 'hysterically blind.' Rowlands plays Thurman's mother, a woman whose husband left her suddenly when Thurman's character was 13, a sad and defining moment in both women's lives, and one which they both have yet to fully come to terms with. Solidly working class, Thurman works in a sewing factory of sorts, and Rowlands' character is a waitress in a diner.

When I say that the film is about lives unfolding, that isn't entirely true, because these lives threaten to never really unfold at all. One worries that the lives of these characters will never really take flight or emerge in the way that they could, should, or are supposed to. It's like watching a starting-to-unfurl cocoon, that never really keeps unfurling. These women are stuck, in their habits, their jobs, their way of thinking, their 'place' in life, and though they are beautiful and kind and have things to offer, one gets the feeling that somehow they will likely never get where they should be going, that the greyness and dusty shroudedness of their cocoons will never really fade away or change. Although they *could* go somewhere, maybe not "far," whatever that would be, but at least somewhere new in their lives, somewhere meaningful, in all their colors and glory and vibrant wings, the fact that they don't seem headed in that direction in any significant way that makes it a bit of a downer of a film. As much as the end would like to have you believe it is hopeful, or that the characters have changed to a significant enough degree that their lives will have more meaning and clarity and beauty, the ending is too small and short and ordinary, and it hasn't been properly built up to enough to really get where it needs to, or is trying to, or seems to think it is going.

As typical indie fare, the film has a character-driven plot (though really there isn't much of a plot, over-all), with some symbolism strewn in here and there, and some definite emotive moments. But the film doesn't add up to much really, in its scope or storyline or message. What really shines here I guess is the acting. Both Juliette Lewis and Uma Thurman truly inhabit their characters and, especially in the case of Thurman's character, really convey her sense of desparation and loneliness, her utter need and unhappiness.

I recommend it as a look at some really amazing acting, but not for too many other reasons. There are just too many other indie films that are better or more well-rounded or have a greater scope. All that being said, I'm glad I saw it, and the idea of being 'hysterically blind' due to the utter desparate notion of relying entirely on others, specifically men (if you are a woman) for your happiness, and how much of a mistake that is, does come through loud and clear. And it was nice to see two beautiful and elegant Hollywood actresses really going no-holds barred in portraying somewhat hopeless, hapless and not very intelligent characters (not to mention entirely unglamorous.. though Thurman is beautiful despite herself here.. it just makes you wish she Knew how much she had to offer, and how little sense it made for her to act as desparate as she did in this film. At least one gets the sense that as the film went on, she was starting to get the idea, which made it bearable.) Gena Rowlands, in her role as Thurman's mother, also does well, but not spectacularly. All three women have done better work in better pictures, but this is one is on their filmic resume, so fans should still make a point to see it.

I accidentally found this movie while "channel surfing". I couldn't change the channel or stop watching. Not to mention that my two most favorite actresses were both in the movie.Uma and Juliette are absolutely brilliant! They were so "real", I could definitely identify with Uma's character. She is disturbing to watch, but her "pain" was so intense. I'll admit it...I was crying with her during some of the scenes.I am just so happy that it's been made available for everyone. In short....fantastic drama!

I saw this HBO original movie when it premiered a few months ago. It is simply fantastic. Yes, I have my home taped copy, but I will be ordering this DVD. The cast is consistent in its brillance. Mira Nair has captured real life. Much respect to her!