Look into My Eyes

The trailer promises a new look at the world of psychic readings, but what we get are sometimes too-intimate looks at the lives of a series of scammers who sell the illusion of talking to the dead or to pets or to dead pets in order to comfort people who are emotionally fragile and clearly not the sharpest knives in the rack.

That suckers go to psychics for succor is no great revelation, although this documentary seems to think it is, and then it goes to pains to say that's okay. In that very modern falsehood of thinking validating everyone's feeling is a good idea. Maybe just tell the person, "Hey, your dog's probably dead, but who knows?" and let them live in reality. Don't too many of us hang on to deception? Isn't that part of the reason we're descending into a totalitarian regime in 2025?

While no names or narration are given to guide us, the documentary all but exposes each of the "psychics" as hucksters, many of whom seem mentally ill and who narcissistically see only their own pains in everyone elses's. Other just seem like empathetic people who spout feel-good nonsense as band-aids, and you have to wonder what their clients really think afterward. But we never hear from them.

It's very telling that many of the fleecers portrayed here talk openly about their dreams of art and acting. It seems that while they never made it to Broadway, they all found their stages, given the lovely size of many of their apartments.

It's also telling that they all come from disempowered, disenfranchised communities (women, gay, African American), a sad reminder of how effective is the brainwashing done by the elite and/or religion (in this case, the delusion of an afterlife and of magic).

This was a beautiful documentary. I loved hearing people's stories. It flowed beautifully, too. Im not a skeptic at all but i use my discernment. I would only pay to see two of the psychics. I cringed at some readings in the movie. I also cried for the girl and her animal. I enjoyed every moment of this documentary. It would have been nice if all the psychics were legit. It seemed like some of them were legit and some probably just wanted to be in a movie to advance their "acting" career. Im definitely glad I watched this, but at times it was hard to see people being scammed in front of me for example when they would ask the clients questions.

In the film *Look Into My Eyes*, a doctor consults a psychic to help her process the death of a little girl who died in her ER. Is this seemingly intelligent woman deluded? Are any of the clients who seek out those who profess to have otherworldly powers out of their minds for doing so? And what about these so-called magic people? Do they truly believe in their ability to speak with the dead and see into the future? The film doesn't ask.

Instead, this documentary on psychics who work around Manhattan doesn't judge its subjects. Rather, the viewer is simply presented with people (most of whom are frustrated, if not failed, actors) who are as confused and hurting as anyone who feels the need for supernatural guidance.

Personally, I appreciated the lack of judgment throughout the picture. By not putting anyone on the defensive, we are allowed to glimpse this world with the mask off. None of the clairvoyants seem confident in their alleged powers. They all express doubt. One man is devastated when his attempt to read someone fails spectacularly, appearing genuinely hurt when his talent falters.

In fact, the sadness throughout the film is hard to miss. As the movie reaches its conclusion, one thing becomes clear: we all carry a lot of trauma, and some of us are willing to try anything to resolve it. Humans don't want to believe that bad things happen just because they happen. We are desperate to make the incomprehensible make sense. And people don't care if you have to fabricate answers to give them that solace. After all, which would you prefer: a world where a little girl is shot dead and that's the end, or one where her death is the beginning of a brand new adventure?

Of course, death is death. No, you don't go on to other things when you take your last breath. But while that may be the truth, the truth doesn't always set you free.

I felt embarrassed watching these self-proclaimed psychics fumble through these readings, stating vague information that or could not make sense (when they don't, they just brush it off) to the person being "read". These "psychics" continue to ask for more and more information from their subjects while they spew more nonsense that never really confirms that they are speaking to the other side.

These folks seem like actors, skilled (in some cases) at keeping a conversation going even if they're just talking in circles. I'm all about there being a connection to the other side, but this does nothing to prove or convince me of anything. These readings look like a theater student forgetting their lines or having an awkward experience at an improv class. Oof, this missed the mark for me.

Psychic ability is a subject that often mystifies yet captivates many of us. It's also a topic that's frequently misunderstood and comes with a lot of distorted, uninformed baggage in need of serious clarification. Those looking to be enlightened about it, however, are unlikely to come away from director Lana Wilson's documentary on the subject with much new or profound insight. The film profiles seven New York City psychic professionals through conversations with these individuals and footage from sessions with some of their clients. Regrettably, though, this overlong offering is in serious need of being trimmed and recut. Much of the material becomes redundant and tedious as the film progresses, and the picture frequently focuses on the wrong content. Many of the client sessions, for example, are abruptly cut short just as they're starting to get interesting. In addition, the interviews with the psychics are at their best when they wax philosophically about the nature of this phenomenon (particularly when discussing how they became involved in this practice, often through artistic, healing and self-acceptance avenues), but there's not nearly enough of these fascinating metaphysical musings. And then there's a potentially intriguing collective gathering involving all seven psychics that, sadly, receives woefully short shrift, again getting clipped just as it's becoming engaging. Instead of more of what works best in the film, viewers are left with numerous easily eliminated pregnant pauses, often-superfluous descriptions about everyday aspects of the psychics' personal lives and overly repetitive discussion of subjects addressed in the session material (especially those involving the work of a pet psychic, an intriguing but vastly overused narrative element). "Look Into My Eyes" could have been a genuinely revelatory, insightful examination of this subject, but the filmmaker has not made the most of that golden opportunity. Instead of providing audiences with a meaningful, articulate look into the subject matter, viewers are left with a meandering, unfocused treatment of a topic that could be valuable and impactful to many of us - and that truly deserves better handling than what's presented here.