I love films that are more than just the sum of their parts. Give me synergy, emotion, gravity and I'm sold. Randall Okita's See For Me is a whole mood. Visually stunning and anchored on a flawed protagonist, it tracks one night in the life of a blind former skier when the luxury home she's sitting is invaded by a team of thieves.
Sophie (Skyler Davenport) is independent and savvy, a former athlete whose career was cut short by a degenerative retinal condition. Nowadays she pet-sits for a living, selectively lifting more valuable items to supplement her modest earnings.
The gig at the mansion of a recent divorcee should be simple. One cat, a secure yet secluded location and her best friend Cam on the other end of a video call.
Simple, that is, until she has a fight with Cam over her klepto tendencies and manages to lock herself out of the most secure house on earth.
Enter Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy, The Flash). A lifeline at the end of the See For Me app, she guides Sophie back into safety. It should all end there but what's the fun in that?
Sophie awakes in the middle of the night to noise and signs of company, definitely not the invited kind. As she navigates in the dark with only Kelly to assist her, can she make it through the night alive?
See For Me is a tense thriller, made all the more claustrophobic for its use of darkness; an excellent technique for the viewer senses Sophie's visual impairment. Simultaneously, director Okita washes each frame with colour, a lurid, visual feast for the eyes.
As visually appealing as See For Me is, it's the performances that make it shine. Skyler Davenport is excellent as Sophie, thoroughly unlikeable and morally unsuited for the task of housesitting-while-blind. The casting was spot-on and I'm pleased that they chose Davenport, a partially sighted actor, for the role. Likewise, Jessica Parker Kennedy shines as Kelly, as moral and likeable as Sophie is not and the true hero of the film.
Spoiler Warning
I have two complaints about the film - one unfounded and one founded - and I'm going to put up a spoiler warning. I'll try to be vague but don't read on if you've not seen the film.
Both complaints can come under the header of plot holes. I managed to debunk my first complaint. There seemed to be a heck of a lot of rounds fired from a certain gun so I researched it. The standard police-issue service weapon in Canada is a Glock 17 and there were exactly seventeen rounds fired before the gun clicks on an empty chamber.
My second complaint wasn't as easily debunked. The See For Me app depends of the operator speaking to Sophie and we don't see Sophie putting in earphones. There's a lot of background noise with drilling and conversation, but I'm not entirely sure the thieves wouldn't have heard Kelly on the other end of those calls, especially when she's screaming.
I give See For Me an excellent four out of five stars. I'll be honest, I should have docked a star for that plot hole but I enjoyed the acting, plot and visual feast enough to keep it at four. Technically, See For Me is more thriller than horror but getting locked out of the most secure house on earth in sub-zero temperatures while blind is a horrific concept, so I'll let it slide. ★★★★☆
A Shudder Exclusive Film, See For Me, Premiers Thursday, April 7, 2022
