Have Cheetah,Will View #49 – “Blindsided”(2013)

It’s 2:51 pm

Back when I was growing in SoCal during the 70s, we had a independent TV station called KTLA. Indie stations showed old series in syndication along with old movie titles.
It was on KTLA that I saw my first Godzilla movie and a lot of other monster movie classics.
In between Godzilla and Rodan…I also saw my first Audrey Hepburn movie and was instantly smitten by Ms. Hepburn. The movie was 1967’s “Wait Until Dark” and it was a scary ass suspense thriller about a trio of crooks who are looking for a package and the blind woman who has no idea where it is. Those of you who know this movie will be nodding your heads and going “Oh hell yes!!!”. Those of those who don’t…..well there is this movie,”Blindsided”.

Michelle Monaghan plays Sara Frost,a photojournalist embedded with a Army patrol in Afghanistan. When her unit is suddenly fired on,the unit’s CO pushes her into a house to get out of the line of fire.
As the firefight rages on,Sara sees a Islamic mother cradling her child,praying. As the mother approaches Sara,she sees the baby is nothing more then a doll,as the eyes of the doll open,Sara’s eyes go dark as the woman is a suicide bomber.
The film credits open as you see various tests are done on Sara and the results are the same,she is forever blind.

Flash forward three years and we see Sara living in New York in a beautiful penthouse with her boyfriend Ryan (Andrew K. Walker) and her black cat Shadow. It’s New Year Eve and Sara’s sister and brother-in-law are coming over to watch the fireworks.
Sara heads out to get some supplies and we see she is friendly with her doorman Antonio and she has memorized her way to a few places,including a store. She feels comfortable enough in that she doesn’t use a cane.
This almost gets Sara in trouble when she steps in the way of a bicyclist and is knocked down. A handsome stranger rushes to help her up after making sure she is okay,leaves.
Sara spends some time reflecting on what has happened to her life in a park and then heads home.

She calls for Ryan several times but he doesn’t answer,Sara decides to take a shower,as she heads into the bathroom,the camera pans back to reveal the stranger who helped her earlier but clearly doesn’t have Sara best intentions in mind.
After some incredibly tense moments,Sara escapes her attacker and after her friend Antonio is killed trying to help,all seems lost until ADA Robert Shay (Michael Keaton) steps in at the last minute to save Sara…..or does he? The game is afoot!

Yeah,this movie kicks ass….taut,gripping and has a LOT more twists then you are expecting. This is not a usual by the numbers cat and mouse film.
The cast,led by Monaghan (Source Code),Keaton (who plays The Vulture in Spider Man: Homecoming) and Barry Sloane who plays Chad the not so helpful stranger,has a lot good chemistry together. They play off each other with zest and vigor. Sloane’s Chad looks like a nice guy but is very dangerous and isn’t afraid of violence.
Keaton has a quiet menace that he has perfected ever since starring in the first Batman movie. He is a gentleman…up to a point.

This film is expertly directed by Joseph Ruben,who has made several great films in his career….such as “Breaking Away” with Dennis Christopher and one of my personal favorites,the wonderful “Dreamscape” with Dennis Quaid and Kate Capshaw. Ruben knows how to keep the suspense climbing and even though “Blindsided” clocks in at a lean 79 minutes,it plays much bigger then this.
While “Blindsided” premiered on Lifetime,I got the R-rated cut and recommend you do as well. Sadly there are no bonus features on this release.

The cheetah and I really liked this film….Paladin thought Shadow was the big star and she was indeed critical in this movie and did a nice job.
We both give “Blindsided” a thumbs/paws up.

You can find out how to purchase “Blindsided” by going to Cinedigm’s webside.