Hysterical Blindness
Promotional poster
GenreDrama
Based onHysterical Blindness
by Laura Cahill
Written byLaura Cahill
Directed byMira Nair
Starring
Music byLesley Barber
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers
ProducerLydia Dean Pilcher
CinematographyDeclan Quinn
EditorKristina Boden
Running time96 minutes
Production companyBlum Israel Productions
Original release
NetworkHBO
Release
  • January 16, 2002 (2002-01-16) (Sundance)
  • August 21, 2002 (2002-08-21) (HBO)

Hysterical Blindness is a 2002 American television drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Laura Cahill, based on her stage play of the same name. It stars Gena Rowlands, Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, and Ben Gazzara. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2002, and aired on HBO on August 21, 2002. In 2003, Uma Thurman won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Debby Miller. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands also won Best Supporting Actor/Actress awards for their performances as Virginia Miller and Nick Piccolo at the 2003 Emmy Awards. The opening titles by Trollbäck + Company won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2003.

Thurman plays an excitable New Jersey woman searching for romance in the 1980s. The San Francisco Chronicle review wrote: "Thurman so commits herself to the role, eyes blazing and body akimbo, that you start to believe that such a creature could exist — an exquisite looking woman so spastic and needy that she repulses regular Joes. Thurman has bent the role to her will."[1]

Plot

In 1987 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Debby Miller has been diagnosed with the condition hysterical blindness in which there are times when her sight fades in and out. The doctor tells her to try to have fun with her friends. She and her best friend Beth go to their favorite bar, Ollie's, and try to find a man and have a drink. Beth flirts with the bartender, and Debby grows angry with her and goes outside where she meets Rick. He wants little to do with her, but she convinces him to escort her to her car. As a 'thank you,' she offers to buy him a drink and tells him that she will be at the same bar tomorrow.

The next day, they see each other at Ollie's, and she asks him to go somewhere else; eventually they are at his house. It is clear that Rick has little interest in Debby, so to move things along, she tells him that she 'gives a great blow job.' Afterward, she thinks she has found love, but Rick is only looking for a one-night stand. Debby goes home.

Her mother Virginia has been dating an older man, Nick, who wants her to move with him to Florida. However, Nick dies from a heart attack. Virginia realizes that until she met Nick, she lived her life, waiting for things to happen to her. In the end, Debby, Beth and Virginia struggle to find stability and agree that all they need is each other.

Cast

Critical reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Hysterical Blindness has an approval rating of 75% based on 12 critics' reviews.[2]

The film received acclaim for its performances, particularly that of Thurman, Rowlands, Lewis, and Gazzara.[3] Caryn James of The New York Times wrote, "Beneath big hair, tight clothes and thick New Jersey accents, [Thurman and Lewis] bring enormous empathy to their roles in this small-scale, beautifully made character study about two best friends in their 20s."[4] James also praised the direction of Mira Nair, saying she brings to the film "a quality that has been consistent throughout her career: a strong feel for the texture of a life and the people who struggle through it."[4] Chris Gore of Film Threat said Thurman and Lewis "give what can easily be considered career-best performances."[5] In more critical reviews, the plot was criticized as "too thin" and the cast "far superior to the film itself."[6]

Accolades

Award Category Subject Result Ref.
Primetime Emmy Award (2003 Emmy Awards) Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Ben Gazzara Won [7]
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Gena Rowlands Won
Outstanding Main Title Design Laurent Fauchere, Antoine Tinguely, Chris Haak, Jakob Trollbeck Won
Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries or a Movie Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken Nominated [8]
Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or a Movie Declan Quinn Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Juliette Lewis Nominated
Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or a Movie Laura Cahill Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Uma Thurman Nominated [9]
Casting Society of America Best Casting for TV Movie of the Week Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken Nominated [10]
Film Independent Spirit Awards Best First Screenplay Laura Cahill Nominated [11]
Best Supporting Female Juliette Lewis Nominated
Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Uma Thurman Won [12]
Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Gena Rowlands Nominated
Marrakech International Film Festival Golden Star (Étoile d’or)/Grand prix Mira Nair Nominated [13]
Writers Guild of America Awards Long Form – Adapted Laura Cahill (teleplay) Nominated [14]

References

  1. ↑ Meyer, Carla (August 23, 2002). "A repulsive beauty in '80s Jersey / Thurman's histrionics fit "Hysterical Blindness" well". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved February 13, 2006.
  2. ↑ "Hysterical Blindness". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  3. ↑ Leonard, John (August 15, 2002). "Hysterical Blindness". New York Magazine. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  4. 1 2 James, Caryn (August 23, 2002). "TV WEEKEND; Looking for Love, Finding Heartbreak". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  5. ↑ Gore, Chris (December 10, 2001). "Hysterical Blindness". Film Threat. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Hysterical Blindness". Empire. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Primetime Emmys 2003: Winners". BBC. September 22, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Complete List of Emmy Nominations - Boston.com". archive.boston.com. July 17, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  9. ↑ "The 9th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Awards". SAG Awards. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  10. ↑ "2003 Artios Award Winners – October 8, 2003". Casting Society of America. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  11. ↑ "2003 IFP Independent Spirit Award Nominations". IndieWire. December 11, 2002. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Winners & Nominees 2003". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Marrakech film festival opens". The Sydney Morning Herald. October 3, 2003. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Writers Guild Awards (WGA) - Movies from 2002". Film Affinity. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
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