Film Review: “The Ticket” Is One To Grab And See In Theaters
After James (Dan Stevens), a blind man, inexplicably regains his vision, he becomes possessed by a drive to make a better life for himself. However, his new improvements-a nicer home, a higher paying job, tailored suits, luxury car-leave little room for the people who were part of his old, simpler life: his plain wife (Malin Åkerman) and close friend Bob (Oliver Platt). As his relationships buckle under the strain of his snowballing ambition, it becomes uncertain if James can ever return from darkness. Fluk masterfully paints a visual world that reflects the mesmerizing effect that newfound sight has on James; the vibrant backgrounds and the sun-drenched rooms are captivating in their beauty. His dreamy and subjective style combines with an astute sense of character to craft a modern fable about what it really means to be blind.
What I love most about The Ticket is it is one of few films I have seen, in a while, that is blatantly about morality. The Ticket does not avoid that it is a film condemning greed and ingratitude as deadly,, spiritual sins, and, in a current world, that sugar-coats and justifies malice; the film is refreshing. James, played by Legion’s Dan Stevens, gain sight, only to lose perspective. He throws away his lovingly family for cars, money, promotions, and a new woman, of which makes him an easy character to call foolish. Yet, it is the charm of actor Dan Stevens that reveals these “sins” can grow from self and societal denial.
In a world that debates whether people are inherently good or bad, Stevens role as James and Oliver Platt’s take of his jealous but insightful friend, Bob, are prime examples of how the good of a person can be lost through the bad/indifference of others. Both are blind characters, of which, in the beginning, are stuck in telemarketing jobs that do not promote and barely pay them. Jim may be in a loving marriage with the thoughtful Sam (Malin Ackerman), but she does coddle him and avoids disgruntling him over their child being bullied. I mention this because James’ regaining of sight is literally a door of opportunities he never had before. He lived his whole life pitied, ignored, and moved by others, which is why Stevens plays James with a building arrogance but also an understandable excitement. Bob, naturally, becomes jealous and questions whether James is morally deserving of such a miracle. Yet, we, the viewer, or, at least I, was questioning why these to blind men had been treated as if they never had thoughts, desires, and voices. They could not see, but it did not mean they could not dream.
Ido Fluk’s film is phenomenal and brilliantly paced and shot to come off like a modern fable that seems greek in origin; the blind man who gained sight from Heaven only to lose it to Hell. Yet, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Fluk’s has made a film that comments on how society treats the disabled. To be handicapped physically does not mean you are so, spiritually, as well. Albeit, James does certain actions to rise in his job and personal life that, surprisingly, lack compassion and are, again, greedy for a man that knows well what it is like to not be seen for who he is and what he can offer. Yet, there was a certain brokenness to James when he was blind and somberly shuffled in the corner of his office that made me understand why he went “crazy” or excessively into this “material” world that had unacknowledged his soul. Even his own wife claimed that, when they met, she danced with him because he looked sad. Fluk begins the film and certain sequences as if we were seeing life according to James’ blindness, which, frankly, was terrifying; always hearing commotion but never witnessing it. The director does well to set up the alienation and discomfort that comes from being blind, yet both these sentiments are not just from the condition but also its surrounding treatment. For however mean James becomes after seeing, I walked away from The Ticket, questioning how truly “kind” people were to him when he was blind. Moreover, I learned that you do not need see a person to feel when they are slighting you. The Ticket Comes Out In Theaters On April 7.
