Review by Jon Donnis
See For Me is a great new film that looks at how a blind person could deal with a home invasion.
Sophie (played by Skyler Davenport, who is most famous for video game voice work) is a blind former skier, who lives with her mother. For work Sophie house sits, (cat sits) luxury houses in New York.
Early on, the film gives the Sophie character extra layers, outside the obvious layer of not being able to see. (Actress Skyler Davenport is partially blind in real life), by showing that Sophie is not your innocent young girl, when you see her stealing some expensive wine with the help of a friend who guides her.
Sophies mother encourages her to download an app called "See For Me", which connects you to someone who will help you if you are in trouble as a blind person.
After arriving at a house to house sit, Sophie accidentally locks herself out, she decides to use the app for help. Sophie ends up being connected to Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy who you might recognise from The Flash). Kelly is a former servicewoman, so gives straightforward easy to understand instructions to help Sophie get back in the house.
With the main characters introduced, as well as an understanding of the limitations, this is where the home invasion angle starts.
Three people break in, they are after a large amount of money that is in a safe. They thought the house would be empty, so upon finding Sophie, their plans get more complicated.
What follows is a tense thriller, with Sophie getting help from Kelly, to try to get help, and then take on the burglars, with Kelly being her eyes and directing her.
There are a few semi twists pushed, will Sophie do the right thing, as well as a few things that make you think, but I won't spoil anything.
I expected a clichéd home invasion film, but was pleasantly surprised. Yes, there were a few clichéd moments, but in general the film felt original and fresh.
Any time you use a disability as the main focus of a film, you risk talking down to people with that disability, but I felt like everything was treated with respect, and Sophie was given enough layers that the being blind, wasn't what defined her character.
The Good
Well-acted, well filmed, with a simple but nicely directed story.
The Bad
The final scene of the film is very dark, while I understand that you need to even things up between characters, as a viewer some things are lost, but then I suppose that is the whole point. I think more dialog in the darker scenes would have been better.
Overall
A really good thriller. I score See For Me a solid 8/10
Review by Jon Donnis
Out Now on Amazon - https://amzn.to/3IMGosW
