Rolling Stone
"...The stars have a sweet, sexy chemistry..." 02/04/1999 p.72Los Angeles Times
"...An exceptionally touching and provocative love story....The way in which Virgil has been written, directed and portrayed is a singularly impressive feat of imagination and illumination..." 01/15/1999 p.F4 Chicago Sun-Times
"...Kilmer and Sorvino establish a convincing, intimate rapport..." 01/15/1999 p.29 San Francisco Chronicle 0 of 10
In a way, At First Sightis an old-fashioned love story about the attraction of opposites, except that in the old days, he'd have been the architect, and she'd have been a blind ski instructor or something. The other new feature is the neurological element. The picture is based on a true story, recounted in the writings of Dr. Oliver Sacks, about a fellow who regains his sight after a lifetime in the dark and finds himself having trouble adjusting to life as a sighted person. At First Sight dares to combine a traditional romantic plot with things like cataract surgery and the neurological challenge of telling the difference between an apple and a picture of an apple. It's an odd mix, and at times the film slips into hokeyness. It's also a bit too long. Yet there's no denying that the medical details are consistently interesting -- and the characters are likable and sympathetic. Director Irwin Winkler never lets us lose track of the emotional consequences. When Virgil [Val Kilmer] comes home after leaving the hospital, the first thing he wants to see is his girlfriend naked. "So this is what beautiful looks like," he tells her. The moment is goofy and lovely, like real life. Sorvino, of course, is the essence of goofy and lovely -- not calculatedly goofy, like Meg Ryan or Goldie Hawn, but intrinsically, quietly goofy. She doesn't fall into the trap of playing Amy as some hard-as-nails New York automaton who finds love. Instead she plays her as a nice young woman just a few years out of school who happens to have stumbled into a high-paying, high-pressure career. We see her and know exactly who she is... Kilmer's affecting performance lets us believe that [his character's pain and self-protection and philosophies] are there, and Sorvino lets us believe that whatever is going on with Kilmer, he's worth betting on. Between the two of them, At First Sight is the sweetest little movie about a neurological disorder that we're ever likely to see. - Mick LaSalle
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