Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
In my continuing Caribbean film journey I had yet to spice things up with a visit to The Spice Isle Grenada. Well consider that rectified with today’s review of 2006 drama Blinded.
The first feature length film from the West Indian country was written, directed and produced by Anderson Quarless and follows a young woman named Clara (Tahira Carter), whose dream romance with the smooth-talking John (De Leon Walters) turns into a nightmare marriage of adultery, physical and mental abuse.
So what’s good here? The performances are okay. Walters is quite believable as the beastly, slimy John. And Carter is good as the naïve Clara, though at points her acting strays into the realm of melodrama. The story is also a straightforward one which makes it easy to follow though completely predictable. The message about not staying silent in the face of abuse also comes out clearly, if somewhat inelegantly. And we do get a mini-tour of Grenada, with the film showcasing the island as a relaxing place to visit.
That’s about where the positives end. The production quality is quite low and the editing is choppy. There are also a series of musical montages which feel like they go on forever. So Blinded is a bit of a rough watch technically and story-wise, but there is some talent that shines through its limitations.
Editor Jules’s Score: 4 out of 10
And you can check out more regional content below:
Julien “Editor Jules” Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like “12 flavours of awesome sauce”. Read more.