From David Rooney’s 9.10.16 Hollywood Reporter review: “Blake Lively might have been better off swimming with that shark in The Shallows than subjecting herself to the gummy toothlessness of Marc Forster‘s wet psychodrama All I See Is You. Whatever is happening onscreen, there’s very little here to engage the mind, making it more tempting to close your eyes and surrender to the blind blur of sleep.
“Had the performances been more interesting, the lame script might not have been such an insurmountable problem. But Lively doesn’t do much to stretch her limited range, while Jason Clarke shows none of the dangerous edge that has made him a distinctive screen presence in other movies. And their chemistry together isn’t exactly cooking.
“The tonally vague script by Sean Conway and Forster signals its overripe fascination with sex from the outset, as Gina and James get it on while the blurred images in her eyes give way to a picture of herself amid a writhing sea of naked men — like a pervy version of one of those art happenings by New York photographer Spencer Tunick. The fact that his wife can feel but not see seems to feed James’ sexual pleasure, and he can’t hear enough details about what she ‘sees’ when they make love. Not that any of that helps with their so far fruitless attempts to have a baby.
“Gina quickly finds herself at the top of the waiting list for a revolutionary corneal transplant. The doctor (Danny Huston) assures her that only one eye is operable but with surgery and a course of steroid drops to follow, she should expect vastly improved vision immediately. As hints start surfacing that James is having trouble relinquishing his role as the no-longer-dependent Gina’s eyes, they jet off to Spain, which everyone knows is a land of torrid passions and combustible sexual heat.
“They stay in Barcelona with Gina’s sister Carol (Ahna O’Reilly) and her husband Ramon (Miguel Fernandez). Like all men called Ramon, he’s a wild and sexual free-spirit artist, who takes them carousing through the teeming nighttime streets and whisks them off to a peep show. Uptight James waits outside while Gina gets a one-eyed view of a woman in a pig mask being shtupped from behind, something that definitely wasn’t in the Spanish Tourist Board brochure.
“Gina explores her new surroundings with heightened senses. She also goes blonde and starts dressing more provocatively, which James finds disconcerting. Clearly, this Gina is no longer the easily malleable wife he signed up for.
“James learns [for a] doctor that the couple’s failure to conceive is on him. But lazy swimmers will definitely not be a problem for hunky Daniel (Wes Chatham), another American who uses the pool where Gina exercises; a friend has already told her he’s packing serious equipment in his Speedos, which maybe now Gina’s newfound freedom will allow her to see for herself.”
