• Release year: 2024
• Director: Lana Wilson.
• Producers: Lana Wilson and Kyle Martin.
• Screenplay by: Lana Wilson.
• Cinematography by: Sam Ellison, Stephen T. Maing and Dave Waldron.

Shotgun Commentary: hilarious and weirdly fascinating.

Review

Look Into My Eyes tells the story of a few psychics who live in New York. It is an interesting perspective of a pretty obscure career that will entertain both believers and non-believers. From your traditional eclectic looking palm reader to pet psychics, they come in all shapes and forms. Each of them has their own techniques to access the great beyond and their own baggage as well, reminding us that, above funny characters, they are also human beings.

Beyond belief

Even a hopeless cynic like yours truly has been able to enjoy the piece for the compassion it offers to people who are often painted as nothing more than charlatans and liars. This is not to say that the documentary has changed this author’s mind. Quite the opposite, but more about that later. But it does offer a layer of humanity seldom portrayed when it comes to people who follow this career path.

First, let’s get into the obvious matter at hand. Real? Fake? Any doubts? Well, the answers would be no, yes, no, and here is why. Any faithful spectator of The Mentalist (2008-2015), will have seen their fair share of psychic and medium debunking. As such, they know the ABCs of pretending to talk to spirits and ghosts. These are not only contained in that show, but in tons of debunking shows, movies and books. Things like asking generic questions, daring with random generalisations based on age or race or gender, asking for people named *insert common name like John*, or anyone with the initial *insert common initial*, etc. This strategy, plus the non-stop fails from various of them (won’t mention names, no reason to get nasty), only serves to reinforce the scepticism of non-believers.

However, it would be fascinating to learn how a believer perceives the work. The result might be the complete opposite. So if any of you do believe in psychics and mediums, please do give Look Into My Eyes a watch and let me know your thoughts!

Does it really matter?

Regardless of your perspective of this, the documentary focuses on the value of their work, rather than the endlessly debatable veracity of it. This value extends to both clients and psychics. Obviously, the clients come with questions, pain and loss, with things they can’t or don’t want to face, and the psychics make it easier for them to come to terms with those things. As far as that goes, this writer finds it as useful as the Church. As long as it makes your existence happier to believe in something you can’t see, go for it. After all, the Church has been hoarding money from scared and wounded people for centuries, might as well diversify the market a bit.

On the other side of the deal, you have the psychics. Unsurprisingly, they all come from performative arts, where they didn’t quite manage to make it. Furthermore, they all have traumatic pasts or events that led them to the professional path they are now following. In a way, they are also people who need to believe in order to heal, as their profession helped them deal with all their trauma the best they could. In that sense, it is understandable that they believe they have the powers they say they do, but surely there are more professional and in-depth studies on the matter that you can look up if you want further knowledge about this.

The perfect conditions

Moving our focus on the documentary itself, the combination of interviews and footage from readings offers a very clear and impartial overlook at the situation. You get to learn more about their work and living conditions, as well as their past, interests and insecurities, without being guided on what to think. There are a few questions around the end of the documentary that challenge some of what the psychics say, but not with the intent of debating their statements, but to understand them properly. It is hard to stay impartial in a matter as divisive as seers of the great beyond, but this piece actually manages to do so as best as one possibly can.

All in all, Look Into My Eyes is so focused on understanding that truth becomes secondary. Far from being another debunking project, this documentary brings insight, curiosity and fun into a very controversial matter. It is neat, clear and very well-organised. It does go for a bit longer than necessary maybe, but believers might also disagree with that. Be that as it may, it is quite a fun and original watch.

Look Into My Eyes will be screened at London Film Festival on the 10th and 13th of October.

Advice to take from this movie:

• Beware of what you spend your money on.
• If something makes you happy, do it, who cares if it’s real or not.
• Some traumas are better treated in therapy, then again, whatever works for you, none of the options are free anyway.

What’s your take? Have you watched Look Into My Eyes? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀