In a world where you can't open your eyes, isn't a blindfold all you could ever hope for?

Rating: 8/10 (22 January 2020)

What a roller coaster of emotion fit into a 2-hour movie. Bird Box is a tearjerker, action-packed movie from 2018, based on the novel written by Josh Malerman, directed by Susanne Bier, and the screenplay was written by Eric Heisserer. In the opening scene, we are shown an ominous shot that depicts an empty river with a baleful male voice-over. How dreary can a shot be? But it is just what this film needed to set the tone for what is to come.
The idea behind this post-apocalyptic movie is mysterious. We don't know what is behind these gruesome suicides. All we know is that if you see it, you die. Those who survived must now avoid looking outside at all costs. Sandra Bullock plays the role of brassy, passive-aggressive and not to mention, pregnant Malorie Hayes who finds herself amid this worldwide apocalypse. After witnessing horrendous and brutal deaths, she is picked up by a group of other survivors. Supporting role, Treyvante Rhodes who takes on the undervalued and underwritten character Tom does an astounding job carrying the somewhat splotchy plot with Bullock though he was given little screen time. After months of scavenging for food and surviving the deaths of their fellow survivors, there's only four left; Tom, Malorie, Boy, and Girl.
Susanne Bier undoubtedly capitalizes on the use of flashbacks within the entirety of the movie to bring together a beautiful montage of peace and action. Bier flips between the beginning of the apocalypse and nearly 5 years into it until the flashbacks catch up to the current time. Within these flashbacks, we are given insight into the horrors of this invisible killer while being brought forward to Malorie, Boy and Girl's dangerous journey along the river on their way to solitude. These flashbacks help us understand how they got to the river in the first place. I appreciate how well incorporated these flashbacks are, but I do believe if you decide to watch this movie with no context about it prior, you would be very lost.
Bullock is forced to make some heart-wrenching life or death decisions which truly unveils the strength behind her character. Sandra Bullock has played similar family revolving roles like in the movie The Blind Side, and other thrillers including Premonition. I truly believe that Bullock's role in Bird Box has been her best since The Blind Side. In The Blind Side, she takes on the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy, a southern mother who took on one of the most remarkable tasks one can imagine, raising not one but three kids. Bullock in this role won multiple awards: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Actress, and many more. Although Sandra herself didn't win an award for Bird Box, the movie did win MTV Movie Award for Most Frightened Performance.
Bier touches on the idea that 'if you don't look it won't affect you' which I correlate with mental health and the divide between those who struggle and those who do not. I think this subtle theme is brilliantly brought to light throughout the movie. In particular, during the birth of Malorie and Olympias children, a strange man who was reluctantly allowed into the house the day before has looked outside at what is killing everyone and thinks it is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. This man, Gary, who is played by Tom Hollander is deemed insane because what is making everyone so sad to the point of suicide, he sees beauty in.
All around from special effects, screenplay to acting, the film does an impeccable job.Somehow through this fictional movie full of gore and death, Susanne Bier still finds a way to touch our emotions and truly make us feel a strong connection to the characters were introduced to. For these reasons I decided to rate the movie Bird Box a 4/5.