Stowe's Sight Seeing Thriller
Before Jessica Alba starred in 2008's "The Eye" the subject of eye transplants/surgery has featured in various thrillers for many a year often following similar themes which revolve around the recipient having issues with what they see after surgery. Such is the case with "Blink" starring Madeleine Stowe and Aidan Quinn a very typical but enjoyable early 90's thriller which features Stowe as the recipient of strange visions following her eye surgery.
Having been blind since birth Emma Brody (Madeleine Stowe), a talented violinist, is offered a break through eye operation which will help to restore her sight. But the surgery causes issues and Emma sometimes suffers a time delay like symptom where what she sees doesn't register till later on. One night she is woken by a commotion going on in the flat above hers and when she peers out of her door she notices a shadowy figure going down the stairs. Convinced something has happened she contacts the police but because of her sight problems is unsure what she saw and when.
"Blink" is very typical of the early 90's with a very similar atmosphere of mystery established in various other movies of the time. But what makes it interesting is the way it uses Emma's heightened senses such as smell and sound to help unlock the mystery of what she saw and thinks has happened. It certainly not overly complex and using terminology such as "Retroactive Vision" makes it all a little unbelievable, but even so there is something interesting and engaging about the storyline.
What really is good about "Blink" is that the pairing of Madeline Stowe as Emma and Aidan Quinn as the detective who ends up not only helping her but falling for her works well. Both characters are very stereotypical creations from the early 90s and although neither Stowe or Quinn do anything to make either stand out as being memorable the pairing works well.
The director of "Blink" is Michael Apted and in general he has made a decent attempt at making a reasonable thriller. He has managed to focus on the more important elements of the movie, such as Emma's heightened senses rather than filling the movie out with padding. But I also feel he slightly struggles as just two years prior to "Blink", "Basic Instinct" was released which took thrillers off in a new erotic direction, something which "Blink" is lacking in comparison.
What this all boils down to is that "Blink" is a reasonable thriller which for the era it was made is very stereotypical but is bolstered by nice performances from Madeline Stowe and Aidan Quinn. Compared to more recent thrillers it is very dated but for fans of the movies from the early 90s this is right up their street.
