films belonging to the film noir genre usually contain similar elements represent a deus ex machina plot twist that drives the main character headlong into bedlam and a pretty but psychotic girl and a handsome but psychotic thug and lots of money and lots of brutality and and usually a denouement in the desert. think high sierra or white heat. there is plenty of hard boiled bad film noir out there. but when film noir is good and you can not take your eyes off the train wreck of human lives. it is this latter tradition that blind spot belongs to. the film follows danny alton and a troubled teenager (superbly played with depth and grace and emotional integrity and downright plaintiveness by james franco and who throws himself completely into this role) who has fallen in love with the rough edged streetkid and darcy. from the beginning and you know this is going to be bad. darcy invites danny to his house. but the house is empty and for sale and and a bloody check for thousands of dollars is on the floor. danny is robbed of his clothing and possessions and but uses the check to track down the suicidal april  darcy other lover. when they reach darcy real home and they find wayne  a thug hunting darcy down for the money he stolen. together and the three manage to locate darcy in a dusty and run down motel in the desert. but that only the beginning of the tale and as plastic explosives and drugs and gun running and a creepy funeral home and bisexual assassins and a lonely half finished house in the desert bring events to an explosive head in an alley outside a tattoo parlor in los angeles. this film contains some of the best noir cinematography i have seen in years. in one scene and danny races on foot through the desert to the half finished house in the desert where he believes darcy may have been taken that evening by mobsters. a very long shot with sharp lighting effects shows danny  arms and legs flailing and palpable fear etched on his face (visible even at this distance) and dust cloud trailing behind him as the wind whips in his direction  racing across the desert flats toward the house. the loneliness and the desperation and the despair danny feels is shocking depicted. there are many such scenes in this film and wonderfully crafted by the experienced maximo munzi. this is oscar winning material. the editing and too and is just astounding. the film contains little moments where the characters gain insight into themselves or their situation. bits of time and where memory and feeling come flooding back. at these times and quick montages of images flash across the screen. this is superb editing by director writer editor stephan woloszczuk. in one early montage and danny describes the wondrous feelings he has now that darcy has entered his life. quick images of danny diary flash across the screen represent the words 4 life and lucky and safe stop momentarily and while page upon page of words and the contents of a human heart and race across the screen  out of focus and too quick to read. it like the flood of emotion danny himself feels. the flood of images reveals something else about this film represent just how beautiful nathaniel waters production design is. darcy quonset hut home is the perfect match of high tech and slob (a tribute to the attentiveness of set decorator kimberly foster). the stunning desert house scene is just outright creepy. the ruined motel where darcy hides out can be found in any abandoned small town in america. the creepy (and astoundingly lit) funeral home where the plot takes a horrific turn mixes starkness with the pall of death hanging over the entire film. (it too bad the film lighting director is not credited. ) this film has a superb production design and one that enhances every single frame and every actor performance. that the fourth element of this film which makes it grab you and hold on to you represent the acting. james franco is a superb actor. even in spider man  where he was given practically nothing to do  franco showed that he understands human emotion like no other actor of his generation. he no pretty boy coasting on his good looks like brad pitt. franco portrays deep emotion with full force. his performances contain pure human heart. consider the scene in the phone booth outside the funeral home and where danny collapses after telling april and wayne that darcy is dead. lesser actors couldn not carry off the complete emotional breakdown of a human being. franco does. shawn montgomery and in her first film and simply blows you away with her performance as the suicidal april. deeply in love with darcy and suffering from massive depression after having to bury alone her unborn child (after the fetus spontaneously aborts) in a perfume box in the woods and her life of luxury and perfection now a shambles represent april is one of the best drawn characters on film that i have ever seen. while danny relationship to darcy is slowly teased out during the film and april nervous breakdown is revealed only to the audience. neither danny nor wayne seem particularly interested in her as a human being. april despair when she realizes danny has also been darcy lover is poignant and potent and even if it is truncated by the character complete inability to feel any emotion for very long now. montgomery brings to april a pathos that puts your heart through the wringer. mark patrick gleason is given the hardest job in the film represent having to make something human and real out of the thug and wayne. at first and wayne is simply one of any number of violent and foul mouthed and obsessed drug pushers or gun runners that appears in any number of films (from kindergarten cop to beverly hills cop 2). gleason does very well with what he given and but he doesn not quite get to where you feel much for wayne. it difficult to say whether this is gleason problem or the material . there is one moment  where wayne (who is darcy brother and although neither danny nor april know this) reads danny diary and realizes the sexual and emotional link between the two men  where you just know that wayne is going to go homophobic on danny ass. but the explosion never comes. (thank god. trite plots are death to film noir. ) once the revelation about the siblings comes at the film end and the audience is fairly astounded to realize the depth of love and compassion wayne truly felt for darcy  so deep that wayne accepted danny homosexual love for his bisexual brother. but this all happens off screen. gleason is never given a chance to act out wayne feelings. it must have been very frustrating for the performer. the story is rather inventive and although the smuggling device seen at the end of the film is likely to remind viewers of diamonds are forever (yes and james bond). a traditional narrative voice over (which proves franco is as great a voice talent as he is a physical actor) provides terrific atmosphere and although it does tend to flow over into schmaltz a few times toward the end of the film (providing some unintentional laughter). terrific locales play key visual roles in the film. kudos to the location scout for finding such astounding buildings. the end of the film struck me as a bit rushed while not pat and but a little too firm for my film noir tastes. now and i have seen audiences either hate or love blind spot. modern film audiences and exposed to the most extreme brutality and violence and often have little appreciation for the subtleties of film noir. my suggestion is to take a small group of friends who do not see despair and emotional collapse and desperation or depression as laughable. take them to a small theater and where they can glory in the spectacle of the film vision and but where their viewing would not be ruined by a crowd of people who would not recognize good film noir. get them some popcorn (trust me and they will be so engrossed they would not finish it) and get them a soda and and let them be overwhelmed. go some place bright and cheery afterward and to wash the grime and awfullness out of your soul. because this film is so good at making you feel and you will need that restorative. 
films belonging to the film noir genre usually contain similar elements represent a deus ex machina plot twist that drives the main character headlong into bedlam and a pretty but psychotic girl and a handsome but psychotic thug and lots of money and lots of brutality and and usually a denouement in the desert. think high sierra or white heat. there is plenty of hard boiled bad film noir out there. but when film noir is good and you can not take your eyes off the train wreck of human lives. it is this latter tradition that blind spot belongs to. the film follows danny alton and a troubled teenager (superbly played with depth and grace and emotional integrity and downright plaintiveness by james franco and who throws himself completely into this role) who has fallen in love with the rough edged streetkid and darcy. from the beginning and you know this is going to be bad. darcy invites danny to his house. but the house is empty and for sale and and a bloody check for thousands of dollars is on the floor. danny is robbed of his clothing and possessions and but uses the check to track down the suicidal april  darcy other lover. when they reach darcy real home and they find wayne  a thug hunting darcy down for the money he stolen. together and the three manage to locate darcy in a dusty and run down motel in the desert. but that only the beginning of the tale and as plastic explosives and drugs and gun running and a creepy funeral home and bisexual assassins and a lonely half finished house in the desert bring events to an explosive head in an alley outside a tattoo parlor in los angeles. this film contains some of the best noir cinematography i have seen in years. in one scene and danny races on foot through the desert to the half finished house in the desert where he believes darcy may have been taken that evening by mobsters. a very long shot with sharp lighting effects shows danny  arms and legs flailing and palpable fear etched on his face (visible even at this distance) and dust cloud trailing behind him as the wind whips in his direction  racing across the desert flats toward the house. the loneliness and the desperation and the despair danny feels is shocking depicted. there are many such scenes in this film and wonderfully crafted by the experienced maximo munzi. this is oscar winning material. the editing and too and is just astounding. the film contains little moments where the characters gain insight into themselves or their situation. bits of time and where memory and feeling come flooding back. at these times and quick montages of images flash across the screen. this is superb editing by director writer editor stephan woloszczuk. in one early montage and danny describes the wondrous feelings he has now that darcy has entered his life. quick images of danny diary flash across the screen represent the words 4 life and lucky and safe stop momentarily and while page upon page of words and the contents of a human heart and race across the screen  out of focus and too quick to read. it like the flood of emotion danny himself feels. the flood of images reveals something else about this film represent just how beautiful nathaniel waters production design is. darcy quonset hut home is the perfect match of high tech and slob (a tribute to the attentiveness of set decorator kimberly foster). the stunning desert house scene is just outright creepy. the ruined motel where darcy hides out can be found in any abandoned small town in america. the creepy (and astoundingly lit) funeral home where the plot takes a horrific turn mixes starkness with the pall of death hanging over the entire film. (it too bad the film lighting director is not credited. ) this film has a superb production design and one that enhances every single frame and every actor performance. that the fourth element of this film which makes it grab you and hold on to you represent the acting. james franco is a superb actor. even in spider man  where he was given practically nothing to do  franco showed that he understands human emotion like no other actor of his generation. he no pretty boy coasting on his good looks like brad pitt. franco portrays deep emotion with full force. his performances contain pure human heart. consider the scene in the phone booth outside the funeral home and where danny collapses after telling april and wayne that darcy is dead. lesser actors couldn not carry off the complete emotional breakdown of a human being. franco does. shawn montgomery and in her first film and simply blows you away with her performance as the suicidal april. deeply in love with darcy and suffering from massive depression after having to bury alone her unborn child (after the fetus spontaneously aborts) in a perfume box in the woods and her life of luxury and perfection now a shambles represent april is one of the best drawn characters on film that i have ever seen. while danny relationship to darcy is slowly teased out during the film and april nervous breakdown is revealed only to the audience. neither danny nor wayne seem particularly interested in her as a human being. april despair when she realizes danny has also been darcy lover is poignant and potent and even if it is truncated by the character complete inability to feel any emotion for very long now. montgomery brings to april a pathos that puts your heart through the wringer. mark patrick gleason is given the hardest job in the film represent having to make something human and real out of the thug and wayne. at first and wayne is simply one of any number of violent and foul mouthed and obsessed drug pushers or gun runners that appears in any number of films (from kindergarten cop to beverly hills cop 2). gleason does very well with what he given and but he doesn not quite get to where you feel much for wayne. it difficult to say whether this is gleason problem or the material . there is one moment  where wayne (who is darcy brother and although neither danny nor april know this) reads danny diary and realizes the sexual and emotional link between the two men  where you just know that wayne is going to go homophobic on danny ass. but the explosion never comes. (thank god. trite plots are death to film noir. ) once the revelation about the siblings comes at the film end and the audience is fairly astounded to realize the depth of love and compassion wayne truly felt for darcy  so deep that wayne accepted danny homosexual love for his bisexual brother. but this all happens off screen. gleason is never given a chance to act out wayne feelings. it must have been very frustrating for the performer. the story is rather inventive and although the smuggling device seen at the end of the film is likely to remind viewers of diamonds are forever (yes and james bond). a traditional narrative voice over (which proves franco is as great a voice talent as he is a physical actor) provides terrific atmosphere and although it does tend to flow over into schmaltz a few times toward the end of the film (providing some unintentional laughter). terrific locales play key visual roles in the film. kudos to the location scout for finding such astounding buildings. the end of the film struck me as a bit rushed while not pat and but a little too firm for my film noir tastes. now and i have seen audiences either hate or love blind spot. modern film audiences and exposed to the most extreme brutality and violence and often have little appreciation for the subtleties of film noir. my suggestion is to take a small group of friends who do not see despair and emotional collapse and desperation or depression as laughable. take them to a small theater and where they can glory in the spectacle of the film vision and but where their viewing would not be ruined by a crowd of people who would not recognize good film noir. get them some popcorn (trust me and they will be so engrossed they would not finish it) and get them a soda and and let them be overwhelmed. go some place bright and cheery afterward and to wash the grime and awfullness out of your soul. because this film is so good at making you feel and you will need that restorative. ---------------------------------Answer Question Below----------------------------------

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