Hysterical Blindness (2002) (TV)

Director:

Mira Nair

Writers (WGA):

Laura Cahill (play)
Laura Cahill (teleplay)

Release Date:

2 December 2003 (Norway)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In the 80's, they said love was a battlefield...they were right.

Plot:

Two friends lament their unhappy single lives while searching for Mr. Right in 1980s New Jersey.

Plot Keywords:

Footsie Under The Table | 1980s | Oral Sex | Bar | Humiliation

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Uma Thurman	...	Debby Miller
Gena Rowlands	...	Virginia Miller
Juliette Lewis	...	Beth
Justin Chambers	...	Rick
Ben Gazzara	...	Nick
Anthony DeSando	...	Bobby (as Anthony De Sando)
Jolie Peters	...	Amber Autumn
Callie Thorne	...	Carolann
Lisa Altomare	...	Dora
Laura Cahill	...	Tonya
Johann Carlo	...	Susan
Alex Draper	...	Michael
Russell Gibson	...	Diner Customer
Jayne Haynes	...	Annie
Susan Isaacs	...	Theresa

Runtime:

96 min | Argentina:99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Bayonne, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Blum Israel Productions

Trivia:

The plastic-covered couch seen in Beth (Juliette Lewis)'s house was actually the property of the homeowner. When director Mira Nair saw it on a scouting trip, she decided it should stay as part of the set dressing.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The movie is set in 1987, but there are many late-90's model vehicles.

Quotes:

Debby Miller: Beth!Why'd you have to congratulate her?
Beth: I don't know.She's a human being, isn't she?
Debby Miller: She's wearing pink shoes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Invincible

A little GEM out of a paper bag

This movie is every good thing that was written on this board and maybe more.

First, when I saw that movie in the guide i had never heard of it before but being a fan of Lewis and Thurman I couldn't let this pass even if apriori the plot SEEMED a little less than original.

Boy was I in for a surprise. Not all great first scene gives you a good film but all good film will give you a great intro scene, but this one gets its greatness in it's "nothingness". There is so "nothing" about it that as soon as you see Juliette and Uma come on the screen, your jawbone drops.

Not only are they unrecognizable but from the moment you see them you KNOW and FEEL exactly where you are, who you are dealing with and that's exactly every director's dream...or nightmare...can I put my audience in the context of the next x minutes.

This could have been an ordinary movie with an ordinary story..who wants to hear about screwed up bimbos stuck in no name city, no name job and a no name life, But somehow without ever falling into melodrama, pity or cliché, you just fall in love with every caracter.

This is a very well directed movie as it is far from obvious and easy to move a story like this into such an enjoyable moment.

As far as acting goes, well as someone else said, It's off the chart. I love Lewis (Natural born killers at her best...here too) and frankly I've seen alot of Uma but she literally blew me away in this. Both are so good that like I said from the first scene they appear, all you see are the caracters not the actresses.

You can see what a truly beautiful women is when even with an "altered down" image of herself (to say the least) you just can't get your eyes off her (yeah I'm a man)

I think the scene in the bar when she really goes loose is stunning and again it comes from a subtle chemistry between good directing and good acting, As a man I felt like the barman which the camera just give you a quick glimpse just to give you the hint. You look at her and you feel love and compassion even admiration for that woman while if it had been badly acted and/or directed she could have looked stupid and slutty so again masterfully crafted. In other scenes you feel her misery and you want it to end as bad and fast as her.

I can't just say I enjoyed that movie, it feels more like you've met real people that were graceful enough to share their life for a monent, wide open. So real that iI felt as an everyday guy like me could ask Uma out for a drink...that's something :-)

My hat to HBO for this one