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I saw met writer/director Aaron Wiederspahn a couple of years ago, and we had a lively discussion over lunch. Then I went home and watched his directorial debut: The Sensation of Sight.

My comments on the film are long overdue.

It’s not every director who gets to start out with the contributions of formidable performers as David Strathairn. Strathairn became one of my favorite character actors when I saw John Sayles’ Passion Fish, and then I was impressed by his leading-man intensity in Sayle’s Limbo. It seems strange that it too so long for the actor to get his due credit, but I’m glad to see that he’s a much sought-after star now, thanks to his high-profile turn in Good Night and Good Luck.

Strathairn brings that intensity to his portrait of a broken man in The Sensation of Sight. He plays Finn, a schoolteacher traumatized by a tragedy. Just as Robin Williams’ Parry in The Fisher King fell into the delusion that he was a knight of the Round Table, so Finn falls into a fractured state, strolling along with a wagon full of encyclopedias he’d be happy to sell you.

The film also features the radiant Jane Adams in the role of a lonely single mother, and a colorful supporting cast play various small-town eccentrics.

Wiederspahn is one of those rare talents who shows a strong sense of “place,” and tremendous patience in his storytelling. He likes long takes, which enable his actors to find moments of delightful spontaneity. He challenges viewers to make connections between the lives of a variety of characters with disparate storylines. Personally, I found it a bit too challenging, as Wiederspahn takes too much time in revealing how these stories intersect.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the characters, the cinematography, and the performances. And I always appreciate storytellers who respect their viewers’ intelligence enough to avoid over-explanation and sentimentality. Wiederspahn’s strengths suggest that his future projects might draw comparisons with David Gordon Green, and his ambitious, multi-story style suggests he might be an apprentice of Robert Altman.

My congratulations to Wiederspahn on the arrival of The Sensation of Sight on DVD! I hope many people discover and enjoy it, and I look forward to seeing what he does next.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008 at 3:47 pm and is filed under Film Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.