Julia's Eyes

The rich visual influence of producer Guillermo del Toro is unmistakable in – and unfortunately the best thing about – this witless farce that desperately wants to be a serious thriller but collapses under the weight of its own contrivances.

A happily married woman with a degenerative eye condition investigates the mysterious suicide of her blind identical twin sister. Was it really suicide or was there someone else involved? It's already a lot to swallow, but writer/director Guillem Morales just can't stop adding underdeveloped ideas to an already unfocused script that quickly abandons making sense. The Orphanage's Belen Rueda stumbles awkwardly through the increasingly unbelievable plot with an indulgent, grating performance that has you wishing she was going mute as well as blind.

Occasionally the visuals inspire tension and the way the gradual blindness of the lead affects what we see on the screen is interesting, but this is one film that really ought to know that looks aren't everything. [Scotty McKellar]