In Darkness

Sort of hard to believe this film is rated a 5.8 on here right now. Though I would agree that it definitely is flawed, it also has many great aspects to it. It's a worthy effort and a worthy watch if you like smart thrillers. Mostly it is a smart thriller, but it eventually goes just a little too far to be a great film, but to me it was definitely good. I strongly dislike the major twist at the end, it was so unneeded and just flat out didn't fit the film. Otherwise though, it's quite interesting with some very unique aspects for an American film. 7/10

Natalie Dormer ("Game of Thrones") is fine as a blind pianist with a tortured past. The script she co-wrote with Director Anthony Byrne is thoughtful and delivers ample twists and turns. And the sound editing amplifying a sightless aural experience is first-rate on behalf of a talented team headed by veteran pro Harald Ansorge.

This established, I came way from "In Darkness" strangely less than satisfied. The pace never felt quite right. At least for me it didn't match the inherent volatility of the story being presented.

And I'm still in the dark as to why.

I love Natalie Dormer's classic beauty as it has an underlying strength to it. I loved her in Game of Thrones and The Tudors but she really gets the spotlight in this engaging thriller. The problem is the ending seems like is should have been the sequel. In Hockey, they saying goes "Play for 60 minutes", Anthony Byrne was up 5-0 going into the 3rd and lost 6-5 in overtime. By trying to make the ending too twisty, he loses all of the momentum he had so carefully and effectively constructed. This could have been a classic with a bit more modern action and more pathos in the back story especially towards the end. Anthony's TV background shows and not in a good way.

I gave up on this when the blind protagonist, after a murder of her neighbor and someone prowling in her apartment, goes for a walk at night in a rough neighborhood alone. And that's only one example of a script that makes us out to be idiots. Just silly.

Sofia (Natalie Dormer) is a blind concert pianist in London. She agrees to play for the father of her upstairs neighbor Veronique (Emily Ratajkowski). Veronique falls to her death under suspicious circumstances. It's connected to her war criminal father from Bonsia. There are people after him and Sofia is hiding a secret herself.

It's not the first movie with a blind woman who witnessed a crime. This one takes on some convoluted twists. I question the logic of the big twist. The turns don't really surprise but rather exasperates. Natalie Dormer is a great actress but this doesn't really work. The twists need to be better supported. This movie needs some simplifying.