See for Me

Randall Okita crafts a taut thriller with a memorable debut performance from Skyler Davenport.

Rarely do you get a cinematic treat at the start of a new year, but Randall Okita's "See for Me" is a thriller that lives up to its genre.

Truth be told, I'm not the biggest fan of home invasion flicks. It's typically the paint-by-numbers storyline that doesn't do it for me. However, I loved "Wait Until Dark" with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin, so it's no wonder why "See for Me" appealed to me so much.

Following a similar style as "Wait Until Dark," "See for Me" follows a visually impaired young woman alone in a house while bad guys are after her. Not new territory, but the added technology helping the young heroine evade her would-be captures was a nice touch.

When we meet Sophie (Skyler Davenport), she's being confronted by her mother (Natalie Brown) as she attempts to sneak out of her house. The tension is evident and when her mother brings up the matter of money mysteriously showing up in her bank account, Sophie goes from frigid to ice cold and claims the money is tips from her last house-sitting gig.

Off to another house-sitting job in a posh mansion in upstate New York, the fiercely independent Sophie hides her disability from Debra (Laura Vandervoort), thinking nothing will happen during her short stay. We also learn the former up-and-coming skiing star isn't as independent as we think. The mystery loot comes from fine wine she steals from her jobs and resells via the help of her friend Cam (Keaton Kaplan), who serves as her eyes.

After locking herself out of the house, Sophie downloads and uses a new app her mother suggested called See for Me, which connects visually impaired persons with someone who uses their phone to guide them. Kelly (Jessica Parker Kennedy) answers the call and quickly lets Sophie know she's the one who called her and she won't be dealing with her condescending nature.

Thinking her interaction with Kelly will be a one-time deal, Sophie thanks her and disconnects, but when a trio of men break into the house looking for a safe stuffed with millions of dollars, it's Kelly who she must rely on to save her.

 Director Randall Okita does a great job of building suspense throughout the film. The film is tight most of the way and using Kelly almost as our voice during the movie was a great touch. I didn't find myself needing to tell Sophie when to shoot or hide. Kelly was taking care of that for me. The lighting was also great, especially toward the end when the power is cut in the house and the blinking red emergency lights gave a menacing hue to each scene.

As with most thrillers, "See for Me" has a ticking clock reminding the viewer that our character's luck will run out at some point and time. In this instance, the ticking clock is Sophie's fading phone battery which, when it expires, so will her ability to see any threat coming her way.

Far and away, the film's best element is Davenport's performance as Sophie. I found it to be an outstanding balance of many things. We're rooting for her throughout, but we're constantly reminded of the fact that she's not the best person - even down to the end of the film. Sophie is a very complex character and Davenport, visually impaired herself, knocks it out of the park in her first feature performance.

"See for Me" is a taut thriller anchored by a top-tier performance from Davenport and expertly directed by Okita.