BLINDSIDE

Canada, 1988, 98 minutes, Colour.
Harvey Keitel, Lolita Davidovich.
Directed by Paul Lynch.

Blindside is a Canadian thriller starring Harvey Keitel and introducing Lolita David (later Lolita Davidovich in Blaze, Raising Cain, Leap of Faith). Keitel is a former professor whose wife has suicided. He now owns a motel and uses electronic surveillance on the people in the various rooms, most of whom seem to be involved in drug deals, assassinations and betrayals. The film requires concentration with its focus on a variety of characters, their double dealing, their violence. The film offers an ugly world and ugly characters and the potential of new technology for intruding in peoples' privacy. It offers a variation on themes used in such films as Blow up, The Conversation.

1. Interesting thriller? Surveillance, invasion of privacy? Information about crimes? Conscience and responsibility of acting on information?

2. The sleazy motel setting? Grubber's office and room? The guests rooms? The strip club? Special effects, violence? Musical score?

3. The title, surveillance and screens? Moral blindside?.

4. Harvey Keitel as Gruber? His background, research, university? The death of his wife? His continually playing the video? The gradual revelation that he had tried to revive her? His moving to the motel? His equipment? His skill in wiring the rooms? His relationship with his tenants, collecting the rent, their stories, reactions, hostilities? The incoming guests and his treatment of them? The criminals, their standover tactics, his making the tapes? Playing them, getting the information about the drug deals, Gilchrist and his relationship with Julie, the planned murder? Giving the tapes to the criminals? Their use of them? His contacting Julie, following her, telling her the truth, infatuated? The sexual relationship? The threat of her husband killing her? Gilchrist? His delivering the tapes and finding he was at Julie's house, her husband is the boss? The murders? His friendship with the strip tease artist, his advice to her, help, visits? Advising her not to go to Los Vegas? Sitting in the car during the murders? The set-up with Julie, the service station and her husband coming into the car? His future? Portrait of a loner character?

5. The criminals and their brutality, drug deals, standover tactics? Delight in killings? The set-ups? The counter gang and the getting of information from Gruber? The set ups and the violence? Gilchrist, the information given about the drug deals, standover tactics, the relationship with Julie, his murder?

6. The strip tease dance, her hopes, ambitions, belief in her talent, her performance? Talking with Gruber, wanting to rehearse? Love of him? His warning her against going to Las Vegas? Her following his advice?

7. Jule, attractive, the relationship with Gruber, double dealing, planning to kill him?

8. The ugly world of drugs deals, men who love violence? The two women with the gangs and their brutality? Cold blooded deaths? Explosions?

9. The moral stances of the film and the audiences to characters. moral values, drugs and murder?