Blink Review

Having wobbled a bit since the high-profile success of Gorillas In The Mist, Brit Michael Apted finds himself in that nether world occupied by fellow countrymen like Bruce Robinson (Jennifer Eight) — making Hollywood movies with almost-stars that do very little at the box office but more than reward the price of a rental come Friday night. Blink has a familiar enough premise, with plenty of clichés: a disabled woman being stalked by a loony toon; a cop assigned to her case who falls in love her; lots of shouting and running; a climax; wailing sirens; the end. But it’s done more skilfully than most and, even on video, there is an eerie quality to the scary bits that makes trips to the loo challenging in the way only frightening films can. Madeleine Stowe is Emma, a blind violinist in a Irish/rock band, who receives a donated cornea and — in a “blink” — can see again. Except that everything’s a bit blurred and sometimes she registers happening that actually took place several hours ago — a real condition, apparently, called retroactive hallucination. When her neighbour is murdered, Aidan Quinn (a maverick cop, amazingly) gets in on the case and gradually pieces together what is going on. In the meantime, the movie splits into two: first, and best, are the creepy moments when you’re seeing through Emma’s eyes and getting flashes of evidence that make no sense. Second, and less interesting, are the scenes involving Aidan and Madeliene getting off with each between shouting matches. Eventually, it all comes to a head in the usual thriller-esque fashion, but as this sort of stuff goes, this is superior entertainment.