1999’s At First Sight tells the story of Amy (Mira Sorvino) and her boyfriend, Virgil (Val Kilmer).

Virgil seems to be just about perfect.  He’s intelligent.  He’s sensitive.  He knows just what to say when Amy’s crying.  He’s a masseuse and who doesn’t want to come home to a nice massage?  He loves hockey.  He’s a great guy to go for a walk with and he’s someone who always has his own individual way of interpreting the world.  However, Virgil is blind.  He’s been blind since he was three years old.  When Amy comes across an article about a doctor named Charles Aaron (Bruce Davison), who has developed an operation that could restore Virgil’s sight, Amy pushes Virgil to get operation.  In fact, Amy pushes him maybe just a bit too much.  Virgil regains his sight but struggles to adjust to being able to see the world around him.

For instance, he has no idea how to read Amy’s facial expressions.  He struggles with his depth perception and, at one point, even walks into a glass door.  He’s seeing the world for the first time and a lot of the things that amaze him are things that Amy takes for granted.  Virgil getting back his sight totally changes the dynamic of his relationship with Amy and soon, despite their best efforts, the two of them find themselves drifting apart.  Amy is even tempted by her ex (Steven Weber).  Meanwhile, Dr. Aaron suggests that Virgil talk to a therapist who can help him adjust to his new life.  Seize every experience, Phil Webster (Nathan Lane) suggests.  Really?  That’s the great advice?  I could have come up with that!

However, Virgil has a secret that he has been keeping from Amy.  There were no guarantees when it came to the operation and now, Virgil’s sight is starting to grow dim.  He’s just gained the ability to see the world but now, he’s about to lose it again.  Will he make it to one final hockey game before he loses his eyesight?  Will he finally discover what “fluffy” thing he was looking at before he went blind at the age of three?  And will Amy ever realize that it was kind of wrong for her to push him into getting an experimental operation that he didn’t even want?

At First Sight has its flaws, as you may have guessed.  The plot is often predictable.  The message of “seizing the day” and “enjoying every moment” has been delivered by countless other films.  (The movie seems to think we won’t notice the message is a cliche as long as it’s delivered by Nathan Lane.)  As directed by Irwin Winkler (who was better-known as a producer than as a director), the film moves at a slow pace and the two-hour plus running time feels excessive.  But it almost doesn’t matter when you’ve got stars as attractive and charismatic as Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino.  Whatever other flaws the film may have, it doesn’t lack chemistry between the two leads and I actually found myself very much caring about these characters and their relationship.  When it comes to romance, good chemistry can make up for a lot!

It was hard not to feel a bit sad while watching the film’s stars act opposite each other.  After the film was released, Mira Sorvino was blacklisted by Harvey Weinstein and her career has yet to really recover.  With his health struggles and his own reputation for being eccentric, Val Kilmer struggled to get good roles during the latter half of his career.  It was nice, though, to see them in At First Sight, looking young and happy and hopeful.  That’s one wonderful thing about the movies.  They save the moment.