Director: Randall Okita

Writers: Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue

Starring: Skyler Davenport, Jessica Parker Kennedy, George Tchortov, Pascal Langdale, Joe Pingue, Emily Piggford, and Kim Coates

Rating: ★★★★

Sophie’s (Skyler Davenport) Olympic ambitions disappear when she is declared legally blind. Instead of going back to training with a guide that can help her down the slopes, she decides to house sit for rich people who go on holidays. When she’s looking after an expensive looking house, three men break in, causing Sophie to rely on someone’s help, through an app called ‘see for me’ that allows someone to help a blind person through a video call.

See for Me is a home invasion thriller with a twist. Sophie, despite her disability, isn’t a victim, and adapts quickly to the situation. At one point she even joins with the home invaders realising there is a high profit for doing so. The only reason she had been house sitting for rich people is because she can steal from them, and no one would expect the ‘blind girl’ to do that. Sophie isn’t a hero of the story or a villain, but somewhere in between. Her resentment to the world is shown almost straight away through the strained relationship she has with her mother, who only wants to help, but Sophie won’t accept any. Even when the homeowner of the house she’s looking after, Debra, offers help, Sophie rejects it. She doesn’t want the world to pity her and wants to be treated normally.

The characters in this film are wonderfully crafted by writers Adam Yorke and Tommy Gushue. They’re fully realised and multi-dimensional. Through brief moments of back story and exposition you get to know them completely. Sophie, who is wonderfully played by Skyler Davenport, is completely relatable and believable. When the invasion starts the tension grows and grows until the final moments, it’s heart-stopping tension at points. Because Sophie is so fully realised, you want her to succeed, when she turns the tables and strikes back you almost want to celebrate. It’s absolutely thrilling.

Before the home invasion, the first person that Sophie speaks to on the ‘See for Me’ app is patronising and awkward. Sophie is calling because she locked herself out of the house she’s looking after, and the person she gets through to her talks to her like a child. You feel the same anger that Sophie must feel and the frustration that goes along with it. The next caller, Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) who also stays with Sophie for the rest of the film, is the complete opposite. She completely understands why she wants to be self-reliant and helps in anyway she can. Kelly is a gamer and soldier who has been relegated to desk duty. She uses the skills she’s developed to help Sophie survive.

When the film starts, it’s not clear what type of film it’s going to be. It almost feels like a drama about a blind girl who wants her independence. Then after talking to her friend via a video call she walks into the basement and it’s revealed that she steals from the rich, through some of the clumsiest and messy dialogue possible. All of the subtlety of the opening scenes is thrown out of the window as Cam (Keaton Kaplam) explains to Sophie that she’s been stealing from previous houses, as if she doesn’t know. He then goes on to say that he won’t help with this one, which is what leads to Sophie reliance on the ‘See for Me’ app. It’s a wobbly moment so early on in the film, because it takes you out of it completely. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long to get back on track.

Overall See for Me is an engrossing and thrilling film. It escalates the tension throughout with great characters and excellent characters. This is really worth making the time to seek out and watch. Especially for fans of thrillers.   

Signature Entertainment presents See For Me on Digital Platforms 24th January

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