Jun 10

Jun 10 Tribeca Film Festival movie review: 'See for Me'

*Image courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.*

A blind house sitter takes on a trio of criminals in the cat-and-mouse home invasion thriller 'See for Me' (screening during the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival).

In short: Visually impaired former skier Sophie (Skyler Davenport) cat-sits in a secluded mansion when thieves come looking for the hidden safe. Sophie is forced to rely on a phone app connecting her to army veteran Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) who serves as her eyes, to help her survive.

The first half hour is about as perfect as the film needs it to be - especially given this thriller's lofty premise. It's not just a standard home invasion thriller - this protagonist is almost completely blind and totally isolated in a unfamiliar home. The first scene Sophie and Kelly share together is a smartly crafted primer for how the two work together, throwing them in a fun little situation while also laying out the logic of how a visually abled army veteran can assist a visually impaired young woman out of a tough spot.

The former skier is not the typical damsel in distress either. Sophie is openly hostile to the notion of being treated like some helpless handicapped girl. She's smart, fiercely self-reliant - and not moored by pesky morals. Sophie is a refreshingly complex protagonist whose survival instinct keeps the film moving forward, but her antagonistic nature and moral flexibility keep the film compelling. She's quick witted and morally complex enough to keep her adversaries and the audience on their toes.

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Clocking in at a brisk 90 minutes, 'See for Me' is a shrewdly efficient thriller that isn't merely content just finding ways for the self-professed "little blind girl" to escape her pursuers over and over again. Just when it seems like Sophie is boxed in, the clever script lets Sophie think her way out of a jam. And more tantalizingly, the plot seems to offer Sophie some potential outs for her - opportunities for Sophie to escape the situation … opportunities she rejects.

While the smartphone app angle is an intriguing gimmick that ropes Kelly into the film, the whole convention just feels like a plot tool to believably keep Sophie alive, despite being outnumbered. One tantalizing scene flirts with forming a personal connection between the two women, yet the film abandons this promising moment, sadly cutting the scene short and relegating Kelly as a supporting character rather than an equal partner in the story. The two characters share an unexpected chemistry, with the brash veteran proving herself more than able to deal with the curt house sitter - and most importantly, Kelly is the calm and focused voice in Sophie's ear as her situation unravels. One of the understated themes of 'See for Me' is that of partnership, with Sophie eschewing partnerships that could help her return to her love of skiing, while exploiting other partnerships that selfishly benefit her. This subtext makes the underdeveloped partnership between Sophie and Kelly all the more disappointing.

Final verdict: Despite the rather straightforward "intruder versus protagonist" template - the most surprising aspects of 'See for Me' are the surprising, character-driven twists that keep Sophie alive ... and keep her in the house, even when presented with obvious opportunities for escape.