Blindside (1986)

Director:

Paul Lynch

Writer:

Richard Beattie (written by)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

First, he was paid to watch her. Now, he'd pay any price to have her.

Plot:

Harvey Keitel plays Penfield Gruber, a once great scientist, reduced to managing a sleazy hotel. Gruber...

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Harvey Keitel	...	Penfield Gruber
Lori Hallier	...	Julie
Lolita Davidovich	...	Adele
Michael Rudder	...	Freelong
Cordelia Strube	...	Dolman
Durango Coy	...	Borden
Alan Fawcett	...	Gilchrist
James Kidnie	...	Sandy
Kenneth McGregor	...	Collinson (as Kenneth MacGregor)
Sam Malkin	...	Peters
Sugith Varughese	...	Two Tone
Frenchie McFariane	...	Elvis Impersonator
Cheryl Wilson	...	Janine
Robert Ramsay Collins	...	Killer #1
Lawrence King-Phillips	...	Killer #2

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Simcom Limited

ZIGZAGGING INTO CONFUSION.

Harvey Keitel plays Penfield Gruber, once a prominent researcher in the field of surveillance science, who has lost his status as a result of his wife's messy suicide and is to be found as owner/manager of a run-down Toronto motel (he sports a goatee and smokes a pipe apparently to convince viewers of his past when fortune smiled). A narcotics dealer pays Penfield to surveil a business rival who resides in the motel and since Gruber routinely spies upon his clientele anyway, through access of the TV monitors, his new assignment does not require much creativity; however, in the course of his observing, he discovers that a murder is being planned to occur among his tenants, other than those purveying drugs. By capturing his findings on tape, Penfield is thrust into the middle of a savage gang war, all the while becoming romantically involved with the incipient homicide target, the film sagging into a patchwork of interrelated complications and betrayals. Director Paul Lynch places emphasis upon use of closeups, helpful in this case as the work is largely shot not only at night, but during very murky night at that, and watching Keitel in turn blankly studying his video recording of his wife's death by sleeping pill overdose, potentially voyeuristic as it may seem, is actually rather mild since Keitel's reading of his part is remarkably devoid of feeling, ostensibly due to his character's history of misfortune. Shelved for nearly two years, in all probability because its storyline is consistently unfocussed, the production does benefit from capable editing by Stephen Lawrence and interesting turns from Lori Hallier as Penfield's drastically targeted lover and Lolita Davidovich as a strip teaser with a heart of gold.