Another week, another biopic hitting the screens, proving that real-life stories are ripe for cinematic treatment. I had no clue who Dr. Ming Wang was before this movie. He’s this amazing Chinese genius who escaped Communist China in the 1970s and went on to become a world-renowned, groundbreaking eye surgeon in the U.S. After watching the film, I found out the Nashville-based ophthalmologist is the go-to eye doctor for celebs like Nicole Kidman, Kenny Chesney, and Dolly Parton. Directed by Andrew Hyatt based on Wang’s memoir From Darkness to Sight, the movie doesn’t actually open with Dr. Wang’s story, but with the orphaned girl Kajal (Mia SwamiNathan) who horrifically loses her sight at the hands of her own family. Kajal later arrives at the eye doctor’s waiting room hoping for a miracle, which triggers Wang (Terry Chen) to recall his painful past in China and tap into his inner strength to help her regain her vision.

It’s a strong start that’s filled with suspense and mystery, unfortunately, the rest of the film is a pretty standard, run-of-the-mill biopic. We get flashback scenes of Wang’s childhood in Hangzhou, China who along with his younger brother grew up poor even though both of his caring parents were doctors. As a teen, Wang (Ben Wang) bore the brunt of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution Group as they burned books and punished scholars all over schools in their quest to suppress intellectual discourse. Once he gets to America, the film briefly shows Wang encountering blatant racism both on campus and off.

There’s a level of predictability in biopics as we already know the outcome of the subject matter. By this point of the movie, we already learned that the Harvard & MIT graduate is deemed a miracle worker by the press as he’s able to restore the eyesight of one of his patients, with the help of his colleague Dr. Misha Bartnovsky (Greg Kinnear) and assistant Ruth (Natasha Mumba). Wang is portrayed as a bit of a loner and a workaholic, he’s still haunted by the memory of a young girl he loved, Lili, whom he lost back in China. Chen’s portrayal of Wang is stoic and even morose at times and there’s rarely a moment of levity in the entire film. I have to say the acting feels a bit rigid overall, except for Kinnear, whose natural style really brings the movie to life whenever he’s on screen.

On a technical level, this is a well-made film, with gorgeous cinematography by Michael Balfry and a moving score by Sean Philip Johnson. The production design in the China scenes (filmed in British Columbia) seems too ‘clean’ to me, but it still manages to look authentic enough that it wasn’t distracting.

The script by Hyatt, John Duigan, and Buzz McLaughlin feels pretty heavy-handed and the slow pacing makes it feel longer than the 1 hour 43-minute running time. Even though Angel Studios is behind the distribution, the film doesn’t dive too deep into the religious themes. Instead, it leans more toward the medical science and research side as Wang came up with the innovative amniotic membrane contact lens (AMCL), crafted from the same material as the placenta’s innermost layer.

The film teases Wang’s spiritual shift prompted by Kajal and the conversation with sister Marie (Fionnula Flanagan) from the orphanage, but the film curiously downplays how important faith plays in Dr. Wang’s life. I say curiously because Dr. Wang has given his personal testimony as a Christian all over the world and  Hyatt has previously tackled faith-based films like Paul, Apostle of Christ, and Full of Grace with aplomb. The beautiful message that ‘there is more to life than what you see,’ which is a direct reference to faith, is only briefly touched upon in the film.

It’s when the real Dr. Ming Wang appears in the end that we hear more about his spiritual conviction. His cheerful and lively demeanor is such a contrast to Chen’s somber portrayal of him. It made me think perhaps a documentary might be a more compelling way to introduce his tremendous philanthropic work. That said, I’m still glad that Dr. Wang’s story is brought to life on film. Regardless of one’s belief, it’d be hard-pressed not to be inspired by Wang’s story of perseverance. Sight is not just a story about a brilliant ophthalmologist, it’s an uplifting first-generation immigrant story that embodies the essence of the American dream where hard work and ambition lead to success. Ultimately, Dr. Wang’s amazing true story shines through, even if the storytelling feels a bit safe and bland.

Have you seen SIGHT? I’d love to hear what you think!

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