At First Sight

Virgil Adamson has been blind since childhood and works as a massage therapist at a resort in the mountains. When Amy Benic, a New York architect taking a break from her job, meets him there, the two begin a relationship. Convinced that his condition might be treatable, Amy pushes Virgil to undergo surgery that could restore his sight, despite the doubts of his sister Jennie, who has looked after him since they lost their parents. The operation succeeds, but the world of colors and written words proves far harder to navigate than the darkness he knew, and the couple must confront what seeing again actually changes between them.

Irwin Winkler directed the film, his fourth feature after Guilty by Suspicion, Night and the City and The Net. Steve Levitt wrote the screenplay, and Winkler produced with Rob Cowan. Val Kilmer plays Virgil, with Mira Sorvino as Amy, Kelly McGillis as Jennie, Steven Weber as Duncan Allanbrook, Bruce Davison as Dr. Charles Aaron and Nathan Lane as Phil Webster. The story draws on the writings of Oliver Sacks.

Released in January 1999 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film runs 128 minutes. Its ratings are modest and consistent across audiences and critics: 6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 15,000 votes, 6 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 267 votes, and 5.6 out of 10 from 37 critics' reviews. The audience scores sit close to the critics' score, suggesting a widely shared, mildly favorable response rather than a sharp divide.