Blindness | Rotten Tomatoes

Blindness

R

Released Oct 3, 2008

2 hr. 0 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

List

44%

159 Reviews

Tomatometer

47%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

When an epidemic of a disease known as the "white sickness" appears in her city, the wife (Julianne Moore) of a doctor is one of the few individuals left who still has sight. Sent to a government asylum along with her now-blind husband (Mark Ruffalo), she sees conditions deteriorate until civilization itself is in jeopardy, prompting her break-out of the asylum to lead a small group to freedom.

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Critics Consensus

This allegorical disaster film about society's reaction to mass blindness is mottled and self-satisfied; provocative but not as interesting as its premise implies.

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Ellie A

Worst movie I have ever watched.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/08/23

Full Review

Dustin T

Worst movie I've ever seen felt like I wasted time I will never get back they must have ran low on budget because the ending was absolutely teriible

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/23/22

Full Review

jelisije j

An interesting concept that was poorly executed and ultimately was a movie that sacrificed realism for a progressive message.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Everyone in this movie catches the "white sickness" which is basically blindness. I'm certain someone in Hollywood was extremely happy they came up the idea to put those two words together. This movie felt more like an instruction manual of how they want us to behave when there is a pandemic, such as: comply fully with each and every government order, behave in a submissive manner, allow others to take advantage of us to the point that you will do >anything< they say, only resist and fight back as the very last possible resort (after you've already allowed yourself to be treated like animals). This movie was released in 2008, so they were likely planting the seeds -- along with other pandemic movies that were released. The behavior of some of the characters was absurd and definitely took away from the entertainment value. This movie is somewhat interesting if you watch movies more for their underlying messages than what the movie pretends to be doing. If you haven't a clue what I'm talking about, then please ask someone who does understand to enlighten you. One must always examine the underlying messages/symbolism of anything Hollywood produces, as they are typically pushing agendas and preparing people for situations that they intend to put us in. Once you start to see it, you can no longer ignore it. It's almost as stark as seeing the messages with special sunglasses in They Live.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

robert p

Too long of a movie that has a moral at the end that was good, but delivery was too slow, I had to fast forward through alot of the movie or else I would have given it a *4* star rating, but as the movie is, it only rates as a *3* star movie!!!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Tiago S

E se todos ao seu redor ficassem cegos? E se você ficasse cego? Com cores como branco, cinza, preto e bege o filme estrelado por Julianne Moore e Mark Ruffalo é um filme a frente do seu tempo pois vemos a compreensão da mulher com todos, fazendo uma administração bem melhor que os dirigentes que ameaçavam atirar se caso não se afastassem. Um dos momentos mais horríveis foi o sexo por troca de comida, ressaltando que em momentos de desespero tudo é aceito, estupro é um deles tudo para poder sobreviver. Em uma análise ainda sobre a cena do sexo, o ser humano se encontra perdendo sua essência, e agora são puros animais, é chocante, isso pela minha visão é visto como um ensaio fiel ao fim do mundo. E quando tudo estava perdido, uma rebelião acontece pondo fim naquele lugar horrível. Contando para um detalhe agora na cidade vemos uma observação interessante como o lugar marca a visão do fim, sem sociedade e o fim do capitalismo de ganhar dinheiro e comprar agora tudo virou de todo mundo totalmente de graça. Com o fim da sociedade que estávamos acostumados entra outro contraste ao meu ver é o perfeito exemplo de como seria o comunismo, pessoas largadas nas ruas, pegando comidas, produtos, o que encontrar. Em uma cena na igreja colocavam 'vendas' nos Santos para eles não verem a desgraça que estava no mundo. E na última esperança do filme é quando todos estão reunidos no apartamento, e começam a enxergar em uma reflexão talvez para mostrar que depois de tudo as dificuldades há uma luz no fim do túnel, mesmo que as coisas possam parecer impossíveis de superar. E conclusão que a sociedade está cega vivendo na podridão e nem percebem, pois estão preocupados demais, seja na loucura do trabalho, com várias dívidas acumuladas, e não vendo que no fim a união fará a força.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/22

Full Review

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Fernando Meirelles

Director

Julianne Moore

Doctor's Wife

Mark Ruffalo

Doctor

Alice Braga

Woman With Dark Glasses

Yusuke Iseya

First Blind Man

Yoshino Kimura

First Blind Man's Wife

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Namrata Joshi

Outlook

The film manages to communicate the sense of deep-rooted paranoia and anxiety to its audience, the moments of claustrophobia on screen reach out and smother viewers.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 31, 2019

Full Review

David Fear

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 16, 2011

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

Glover's occasional all-knowing commentary and the dreary music score dull the edges of what was bound to be a challenging project.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 27, 2009

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

The handling of the story and view of the humanity of the characters is challenging, but a tad disengaged to make the film's social commentary truly effective.

Rated: 2.5/5

Jan 31, 2021

Full Review

Jason Best

Movie Talk

As we face the possibility of apocalyptic economic collapse and/or ecological catastrophe, this allegorical horror thriller joins Alfonso Cuarón's grim Children of Men as a terrifying vision of the anarchic future that may lie in store for us.

Nov 21, 2020

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Meirelles only sporadically creates moments of greatness that are too often surrounded by pretentious mediocrity.

Rated: 2.0/4.0

Sep 3, 2020

Full Review

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Synopsis

When an epidemic of a disease known as the "white sickness" appears in her city, the wife (Julianne Moore) of a doctor is one of the few individuals left who still has sight. Sent to a government asylum along with her now-blind husband (Mark Ruffalo), she sees conditions deteriorate until civilization itself is in jeopardy, prompting her break-out of the asylum to lead a small group to freedom.

Director: Fernando Meirelles
Executive Producer: Gail Egan, Simon Channing Williams, Tom Yoda, Akira Ishii, Victor Loewy
Screenwriter: Don McKellar
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Rhombus Media Inc., Bee Vine, O2 Filmes
Rating: R (Sexual Assaults|Language|Sexuality/Nudity|Violence)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $3.1M

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