‘THE Sensation of Sight,” the first feature by director-writer-producer Aaron J. Wiederspahn, features a splendid performance by David Strathairn, who played legendary TV journalist Edward R. Murrow in “Good Night, and Good Luck.”
In “Sensation,” made in 2006, Strathairn is an introspective former high school English teacher who gives up job and family (a wife and son) because of a tragedy for which he holds himself responsible.
Now – dressed in suit, hat and sneakers – he walks around his New England hamlet selling old encyclopedias ($25 a book) from a box on a little red wagon.
Just what has driven Strathairn’s character, Finn, to despair? Wiederspahn allows the answer to trickle out in Finn’s encounters with other locals, who have their own traumas to deal with.
They include a single mom (Jane Adams), an alienated loner (Ian Somerhalder) and a widowed father (Scott Wilson) and his daughter (Elisabeth Waterston, daughter of actor Sam Waterston).
The acting is uniformerly good, and the lensing (mirrors play a key role) by Christophe Lanzenberg is strong.
At 134 angst-filled minutes, “The Sensation of Sight” might tax your patience, but there are rewards for the persistent.
THE SENSATION OF SIGHT
Teacher’s quest.
Running time: 134 minutes. Rated R (language). At Two Boots Pioneer, Avenue A and Third Street, East Village.