In the Louisville Eccentric Observer
November 8th, 2000

PAUL KOPASZ PREVIEWS SELECTED TITLES

By Paul Kopasz

One of the most fascinating films of the Louisville Film Festival (and possibly one of the best), "Out of Sight," is a documentary wrought in the form of a dramatic feature. Diane is an attractive young blind woman from Nebraska who lives with a crusty, much older boyfriend--an alcoholic equine trainer she met working on a horse farm. The footage is shot on videotape and arranged in such a way as to give the piece a plot line and, at 85 minutes, it closely resembles a typical "indie" feature film.

Indeed this is the film's greatest strength. Director David Sutherland pushes the stylistic envelope so far that it is often difficult to tell whether one is watching a documentary or a low-budget drama. Without foreknowledge, I would have been hard-pressed to tell. Like a less-sensational "Blair Witch Project," "Out of Sight" can be seen ass something of a benign puzzle, causing the viewer to wonder as much about its origins as its narrative elements.

Boyfriend Herb winds Diane back after a period of estrangement with the promise to bequeath his ranch to her when he dies--and even he assures her is imminent as he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Diane returns and waits. And waits. And waits. The codger is still alive and after five years, and party-girl Diane is becoming increasingly restless and frustrated. She consoles herself by teaching braille and bar-hopping with her vapid blond friend, Jillian.

The monolithic moral weight of the situation creeps up quietly on the viewer. Before you know it, you've been swept up into a moral vortex worthy of Mamet or maybe even Tennessee Williams. The payoff comes suddenly in the last 10 minutes. Diane agrees to marry a boy 10 years her junior. Herb's tumor gets recharged and everybody--everybody--prays he'll die. The puzzle is no longer so benign. At once the viewer starts to wonder who ion the cast is the real villain. Diane openly worries about getting paid off--getting Herb to will her the ranch as per their deal--especially if she chooses to leave him for the younger boyfriend before Herb dies. Herb feels sorry for himself. Diane self-justifies with the help of her mom and Jillian. Everybody starts to look real, real sleazy. Where once "Out of Sight" looked like a crass documentary or a cheap indie feature, it suddenly looks like a brilliant synthesis of newsmagazine segment, soap opera and trailer-park cinema-verite.