Blindness

Blindness isn't for everyone -- it's never shy about the real, rough consequences of the end of civilization -- but it's also lyrical, moving, and carries a fierce message of hope. Author Saramago reportedly spent nearly a decade rebuffing filmmakers who wanted to adapt his acclaimed novel; finally, though, director Fernando Meirelles (City of God, The Constant Gardener) and screenwriter Don McKellar convinced the novelist that his book could be brought to the screen. The resulting film is, ultimately, gripping and harrowing and disconcerting; it's certainly one of the bleakest and most brutal portraits of the collapse of civilization ever seen on screen.

And yet, it's not hopeless or inhumane; there are several moments of grace and hope and kindness in the film, even among the muck and blood and cruelty. Moore's character is another showcase for the actress -- viewers watch as a silly, slight woman grows stronger and more assured under what seems like an unbearable burden of responsibility. Visually, the film is a wonder, capturing not just the crush and rush of panicked crowds but also the broken, bizarre landscape of a major metropolis in the wake of a horrible disaster.