See for Me, 2022.
Directed by Randall Okita.
Starring Skyler Davenport, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Laura Vandervoort, Pascal Langdale, George Tchortov, Joe Pingue, Emily Piggford, Keaton Kaplan, and Kim Coates.
SYNOPSIS:
When blind former skier Sophie cat-sits in a secluded mansion, three thieves invade for the hidden safe. Sophie’s only defense is army veteran Kelly. Kelly helps Sophie defend herself against the invaders and survive.
They really do have an app for everything.
See for Me (more later on the titular digital service for assisting vision-impaired persons) centers on former prodigy skier Sophie (Skyler Davenport transitioning from respectable videogame voiceover work into a promising live-action debut that appropriately utilizes their legal blindness, ensuring that there are enough character layers to save this home invasion thriller from feeling too gimmicky), now blind, lives with her over-worrying mother but spends more time housesitting luxurious mansions in upstate New York. Immediately throwing reviewer perception off-balance, it’s also revealed that Sophie is not as innocent as one might assume, pushing back against the usual verbal condescending treatment from the able-bodied and making things even by stealing a few generic but pricey items for resale (such as a bottle of wine worth thousands of dollars).
This moral gray area is traversed with her friend Cam (Keaton Kaplan) who remotely advises what is worth stealing and reselling, although he’s getting tired of helping Sophie out with her thievery. And while one might also initially be put off Sophie’s actions, there’s also something refreshing and worth embracing about a disabled character shaded with flaws and questionable justification, especially as we see a cab driver perhaps go a bit too far offering help. Make no mistake about it, Sophie also has a streak of stubbornness, but it’s easy to empathize with not wanting to be treated dumb, something that seems to happen a lot. It’s probably doubly frustrating considering she has gone from one of the most celebrated under-18 skiers to this way of life following permanent vision loss.
With Cam reconsidering the friendship, Sophie begrudgingly caves into advice from her mother and downloads the See for Me app, which connects the user to a set of eyes for assistance. Unsurprisingly, these workers, too, while meeting well, have a habit of talking down to the blind. However, after accidentally locking herself all of the humongous and spacious home Sophie is cat-sitting for, there is no choice but to swallow a bit of that pride and accept some help. Fortunately, after a redial, Sophie is connected to former servicewoman and hardcore first-person-shooter gamer Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy), who treats and guides her to an alternate way back inside with as much respect and dignity as there can be in this embarrassing situation.
See for Me takes this setup (complete with skillful photography from Jordan Oram and Jackson Parrell providing similar spatial awareness to the audience) and introduces a late-night home invasion in the form of a trio of burglars working for the unseen Rico (Kim Coates) barking orders over a radio. There is a safe containing plenty of riches that can change the lives of everyone, including the frustrated and down on her luck Sophie. Yes, at some point between fending for her life by evading these serious- business criminals with Kelly as her eyes, Sophie must decide if she actually wants to join them.
Director Randall Okita carefully handles these drastic decisions, so they feel less silly and more about the complexity of Sophie’s character. Although, the longer See for Me goes on, the more the script from Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue gives itself over to the B-movie genre side of things. There’s also nothing necessarily wrong with that, considering as far as gimmicks go, it’s a rather entertaining and suspenseful one. It’s not without its clichés and predictable story trajectory (and doesn’t quite wrestle enough with the consequences of her more unfortunate decisions), but there’s a concerted effort to not strip Sophie of her moxie even in the face of danger. Sophie is as capable as she is vulnerable, demonstrating that Skyler Davenport is a fine up-and-coming talent during both dramatic and action beats, and most importantly, regardless of disability.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
