Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Way He Looks Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf March 16, 2015

“The Way He Looks” isn’t a message movie, it’s a human story about longing and self-exploration. Credit writer/director Daniel Ribeiro for its restraint, building a tale that isn’t insistent with hysterics to make a point about sexual awareness. The picture has its clumsy moments, but it takes on a considerable dramatic challenge, searching for a way to showcase the warmth of burgeoning attraction and love while remaining careful with additional concerns involving parents and social circles. “The Way He Looks” tinkers with teen cinema formula, but it largely avoids crushing cliché, electing to play moments honestly and gently, allowing the viewer to process the delicate emotions in play.

A Brazilian high school student wrestling with the pressures of adolescence, Leonardo (Ghilherme Lobo) is also dealing with his blindness, trying to locate some level of independence while his parents hover closely, unwilling to grant him space. Best friends with Giovana (Tess Amorim), the schoolmates are bonded together tightly, sharing fears and dreams as they make initial plans to become exchange students, with hopes to come to America. One day, new student Gabriel (Fabio Audi) enters their lives, with his kindness a perfect match for Leonardo’s reserved nature, finding the twosome becoming quick pals, slowly pushing Giovana out of view. Dealing with bullies and peer pressure, Leonardo takes solace in Gabriel’s comfort, gradually recognizing a sexual attraction to his companion, who’s being hunted by popular girl Karina (Isabela Guasco). Facing an uncertain future with overly protective parents, a damaged relationship with Giovana, and unspoken feelings for Gabriel, Leonardo finds himself in an uncomfortable position, filled with buried desires ready to burst out of him.

Although it’s a brief moment of ambiguity, Ribeiro doesn’t identify Leonardo’s blindness at the start of the film. Instead, we’re treated to a lazy afternoon at Giovana’s pool, with the pair discussing summer plans and virgin woes, leaving the sightless reveal for the walk home. While the revel is treated casually, it works wonderfully, permitting viewers to collect an appreciation for the average teen’s anxieties without understanding Leonardo’s situation, establishing him as one of the many before he suddenly becomes the focal point of every scene due to his sightlessness. “The Way He Looks” contains a few more scenes with intentional misdirection, establishing right off the bat that Ribeiro is someone not entirely tempted by the familiar, looking to create an individual out of Leonardo as he battles for some sense of normalcy in a life of constant monitoring.

Inspection of this desire makes up a great deal of “The Way He Looks,” tracking Leonardo’s progress as he inches away from his parents, who are terrified to let their blind child slip into the big bad world alone, fighting increasing opportunities for freedom from school trips and a plan to travel to Los Angeles to stay with a host family for a few months. Giovana is also a constant presence, though one more in tune with Leonardo’s needs, helping him with walks home from school and when he’s targeted by bullies out to humiliate him. She’s a soothing presence with a command of typical teen drama, hoping to land her own romance along the way. The duo is seemingly inseparable, rooted in a routine of daily life that’s suddenly challenged by Gabriel’s presence, which, due to a class assignment, creates a friendship forged through shared academic responsibilities, opening Leonardo’s senses and awakening his true self.

Teenage troubles aren’t always sturdily built in “The Way He Looks,” finding moments with Leonardo’s bullies too simplistic to fit comfortably into a dimensional picture. When moving away from artificial conflict, Riberio conjures a feeling of sincerity and vulnerability that brings out the script’s colors, advancing Leonardo from a classical music-loving lonely, stymied guy to a hot-blooded teen finally responding to another, delivering hope and thrills during a sheltered period in his life. Gabriel isn’t imagined as a bad influence, instead treated respectfully by the script, which details him as a gentle soul with interest in the stars, yet lacking communication skills as Karina tries to catch his attention. The pair bonds over music by Belle and Sebastian and share confessional time together, with the friendship transforming into something else through acts of curiosity and separation. Riberio rides that fine line between heartfelt longing and After School Special melodrama with refreshing confidence, always preserving humanity to the best of his ability. Although certain scenes are cringe-worthy (a mid-movie party sequence exploring a spin-the-bottle calamity doesn’t yield profound results), “The Way He Looks” does a fine job with authentic emotion, especially with its spot-on portrayal of Giovana’s third-wheel distress.

The Way He Looks Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (2.39:1 aspect ratio) presentation offers a sharp view of the HD-shot picture, bringing out inviting fine detail with facial features and locations, which eventually move from classrooms and bedrooms to the great outdoors, capturing camping life. Colors are true, offering secure skintones and assorted costuming hues, while greenery registers naturally. Evening encounters do showcase excessive darkness at times, but only a few moments register with intrusive solidification.

The Way He Looks Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't an aggressive listening event, with the picture's dramatics leaning toward quiet behavior and introspection. Dialogue exchanges are crystal clear, isolating emotional responses with a satisfying range of reactions. Soundtrack selections, which move from classical pieces to rock music, are secure, offering what little the surrounds are willing to provide. Atmospherics are slightly circular, but not pronounced. Scoring is appropriately gentle.

The Way He Looks Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (14:20, HD) are shockingly fertile snips, highlighting Leonardo's mother as a more active participant in the emancipation of her beloved son, provides some additional time with Giovana and Gabriel that delivers backstory, and makes a largely forgotten grandmother character a key participant in Leonardo's growth. Ribeiro appears in introductions to discuss why these decent moments were removed.

• "Behind the Scenes" (9:39, HD) isn't a significant look at the creation of "The Way He Looks," instead keeping close to the young actors, observing them horse around on set and play with their phones during down time, always mugging for the camera. Interview segments are also included, focusing on character motivation.

• Interviews (26:06, HD) is an extended conversation with Riberio, Lobo, Audi, and producer Diana Almeida, who chat up the production's origin as a short film, on-set camaraderie, and the unexpected success of the short and its feature-length adaptation.

• "I Don't Want to Go Back Alone" (17:02, HD) is the 2010 short film from Riberio that inspired the movie, featuring Lobo, Audi, and Amorim in their original roles.

• And a Theatrical Trailer (1:43, HD) is included.

The Way He Looks Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Way He Looks" is a soft statement of self-worth and honesty, though it does work through familiar terrain, highlighting jealousies and miscommunication, keeping up with high school drama as it works to attain a higher level of soulful understanding. Helping the cause are terrific performances, finding Lobo especially secure in the lead role, communicating fear, doubt, and increasing confidence as Leonardo begins to sample life's pleasures. Ribeiro also manages to land the picture on a lovely note of courage, giving this sweet effort exactly the type of punctuation it deserves.