User Reviews

I really hate titles that are puns unless I create them. "Joan of Arcadia" is perhaps the worse pun title. "Lies in Plain Sight" deals with Sofia, a blind Latino-American who attends MIT. She was very close to her cousin Eva, who is the apparent victim of a suicide...one where she left no note. Sofia (Martha Higareda) is skeptical and asks questions. Eva has a young sister Alexa (Kendra Jain) who is self centered and seems a bit resentful of Sofia. Eva's mom (Rosie Perez) believes Eva did it to punish her and deals with her grief by cleaning. Yul Vazquez is Eva's diabetic daddy. Benito Martinez is Sofia's father.

Ethan (Chad Michael Murray) was Eva's boyfriend. He makes friends with Sofia. As they talk, Sofia becomes unnerved as things are not what they seem. She discovers her family, including Eva, lied to her to protect her. Early on we find out Eva was scheduled to have an abortion. Eva never brought her her boyfriend. Eva was pregnant, kept it a secret and was going to get an abortion. The boyfriend claims they had broken up and the child was not his. And the family had secrets. At this point the audience has the whole thing figured out and we still have over an hour of movie left. Even a blind person could figure this one out.

The real story is how Sofia, who is blind, goes about to figure out the family secret and how is she going to save her cousin Alexa. At times the movie felt like an after school special, although it was certainly a cut above.

Excellent acting. Good drama.

No f-bombs, sex, or nudity. adult themes.

Sofia Delgado is a brilliant student at MIT. Her life is put on hold when she learns of the suicide of the woman she felt was a sister. "Lies in Plain Sight" unfolds as a detective story in which Sofia must marshal all of her intuitive instincts to learn the truth about Eva.

There was a lush and vibrant quality to the cinematography of "Lies in Plain Sight." The beautiful flowers, sky, and sun work in counterpoint to the sordid details of a life of family secrets. This is all the more poignant because Sofia is blind. The film was well-directed with a skillful use of flashbacks on the younger Sofia and Eva.

Sofia grew up in a household that did not include her birth parents. Rafi and Marisol adopted her when her father was strapped financially. Sofia and her cousin Eva Reyes were as close as blood sisters could ever be. It therefore came as a shock to Sofia to learn that Eva was not being truthful to her during her entire upbringing.

The film did not make it clear why Eva was so cruel to Sofia. Was it out of jealously that Eva did not interfere at a time she knew that Sofia was being raped? How could Eva had insisted on 100% honesty from Sofia when she was not only withholding the truth, but engaging in nearly pathological lying?

The performances were first rate, especially the actress playing Sofia. There was also great empathy from the actor playing Ethan, the presumed boyfriend of Eva from whom she kept secrets as well. While the film content was unpleasant, there was a quasi sense of redemption with the melodramatic ending where it is clear that much healing lies ahead for this tragic family.

It's kind of predictable until the very end. I kept expecting the "bad guy" to be someone else because it was pretty obvious.

The acting performances are all excellent, particularly the women.

I enjoyed learning a bit about how a very independent blind woman gets around. The dynamic between her and her friend Eva was very interesting (with the lies etc.). I can't really get much into that without ruining the story for you.

It's worth watching and will not be a waste of your time.

I have one little quibble about one character who's a diabetic - I think it's a little unbelievable that a man would have his wife give him insulin in this day and age. They could have maybe explained why they did that because it seemed a little contrived to me.