Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wait Until Dark (1967)

“The blinds moving up and down. . .the squeaking shoes. . .and then the knife whistling past her ear. . .

Blind people. They’re so vulnerable and easily manipulated. But they are not at all stupid. So don’t fuck with a blind person.

In Wait Until Dark, Audrey Hepburn plays a young blind woman whose normal day suddenly turns horrifying when “several men” arrive at her house, concocting a story about her husband and one that involves a doll. The encounters then turn into a battle of the wits for the blind and the seeing.

The film featured heavy suspense and an intense story of situational irony. The viewer knows of the contents of the doll and the reason for the strong desire of it, but what they’re actually concerned for is Audrey Hepburn. Hepburn’s character was very kind and loving; you wouldn’t even consider thinking bad things about her. The tension in the film was very high and every second that went by, was a second of comprehension for Hepburn regarding the whole charade taking place in her apartment.

The acting in this film was very well. Alan Arkin played the ringleader in the group of thieves. He possessed a very evil, cold personality and in the end, it didn’t matter if he had the doll or not, he still had intentions of harming Hepburn. Hepburn on the other hand, was very spectacular, as mentioned. Her performance even got her nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 40th Annual Academy Awards. Whenever she would get scared or startled, the audience would fear for her. A huge contribution to the story is the fact that she was blind.

The film also featured one of the most terrifying climatic moments in film history. This film was actually the second film in which the killer was presumed dead, the first being 1955’s Les Diaboliques. To frighten the audience, the theatres would dim the lights down, until the entire theatre was drowned in complete darkness to match the complete darkness of the film.

Wait Until Dark is a very sharp thriller of a battle of wits. I give it a 5 out of 5 and you can buy it on DVD or watch on Netflix.

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