The Blind

Went to see this movie for three reasons. 1. I'm from Louisiana, so I was curious about if they would get the accent right. 2. I'm Christian and like a good faith-based movie. 3. I'm a fan of Duck Dynasty, the Unashamed podcast and the Duck Call Room podcast.

Happy to say that I really liked this movie.

Storyline: stayed true to what I've heard Phil and Kay talk about in interviews.

Scenery: good and enjoyed seeing all the vintage stuff.

Acting: A+ and never thought it was anything less. The accents were good and were not overdramatized.

When the movie ended, my first thought was, "it's over already?" For me that is a sign of a good movie. Not once did I check the time, to see how much longer till the end.

I did enjoy the photography but that was all. Phil and Kay tell their stories in a mid-life chat held with a friend. It's a fictionalized, family-authorized "true story" that's equal parts "Where the Crawdads Sing" and a classic Christian redemption story of the "Sergeant York/Apostle" variety. We see the selfish, childish hellion Phil was before alcoholic rages and the near end of his marriage led him to Jesus. A classic narrative of white Southern culture that is wildly loved by those with hard lives who recognize the turning point that faith might have offered them. Still, the film is sometimes amateurish. It lets the Robertsons have it both ways by boasting Phil as a s-kicker and ties his success in life to his Baptism. One cannot vouch for the truth of the Robertson family lore related here. The acting is indifferent, the production values single-wide/wrecked pickup cheap, with a score built on plaintive violin solos and cut-rate covers of pop oldies. Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top covers "La Grange" for a version for use in the film's 1970s scenes. Whatever potential it had, the film just isn't very good, with or without fact checking. Redemption stories work for a reason and done right, it touches people. Director Andrew Hyatt can't make this one work and the script's humorless, emotionally flat treatment of the material smothers "The Blind" in the crib.

I've only seen a couple of episodes of Duck Dynasty, but I know a little bit about the family, the Robertsons, and as a Christian was eager to see this movie The true story of Phils redemption was interesting, but nothing we haven't seen in movies before. I enjoyed learning the story of Phil and Ms. Kay, but the quality seemed a bit low budget and came off more like a Lifetime/Hallmark TV movie. The acting and directing were not the best, but what was most frustrating is the lead actors were very hard to understand and you miss a lot of the dialogue due to the accents and mumbling. Phil, especially, barely moved his lips. I couldn't understand half of what he said.

The theater said this was a special showing/production so we couldn't use our Regal Unlimited, (which would've been nice to know ahead of time) so had to pay full price, as well is traveling a bit further to one of the limited theaters it was showing at. Was it worth it? I love movies, so I'm glad I saw it, just wish it had of been a better quality of movie. IMHO! 6.5 stars 10/2023.

Saw The Blind yesterday. I wondered how knowing the levels Phil had sunk down to would affect how people thought of him. Some of it is tough to watch...the anger, the lies, cheating. A side of the man I didn't know existed although not wholly surprised. It was well acted and produced for the most part and I would definitely recommend people going to see it. I would have liked a bit more character development. But it was most likely such a difficult life that it would have been a 3 hour movie. Knowing Phil Robertson and family, I imagine this is one of the most spot on biography films we're going to see for a long time.

The movie performed better than I was expecting. I knew the story had substance and even if you aren't a dynasty follower/fan it would be something that could stand on its own and be entertaining. Which in my opinion it was!

The things I enjoyed about the movie was that it felt like a movie. Production, cinematography, acting, and dynamic plot helped put together a solid film start to finish. This film did a good job balancing the biopic - documentary and just inspired real life movie balancing act pretty well. In other words it didn't feel like a documentary but didn't feel like just a made up movie either.

I think the movie probably will appeal to certain audiences that most likely know what the movies already about but could be a nice find for people who happen upon it. I think this movie has decent rewatch ability and intends to have a good message.

For things I wasn't a fan of - well not too much to be honest. I guess it would be just the overall feel of the movie. It was above lifetime movie quality but in between blockbuster films. Nothing too bad but just something about either the acting or the ambience of the film just kept it more at the forefront than I'm used to that I was watching a movie and yes its one of those inspiring message typed movies. But again it wasn't anything terrible just something that others may not like or be more sensitive to.

Definitely a movie that would get played at church, bible study, homeschooled kids, or etc. But not in a bad way on the contrary for good reasons. I think it was again a interesting story and film. 7/10.