"Blindness" *** (out of four): A strong script and stellar ensemble cast propel this extended metaphor about a world suddenly afflicted with blindness. Ironically, it's not an easy film to watch, nor should it be.

In a nondescript time, in a nondescript country, an epidemic is tearing through the population. Referred to as the "white sickness", it blocks people's vision, leaving them seeing only a bright white light. One of the first to be afflicted is "The Doctor", played by Mark Ruffalo ("Zodiac"), who is quickly packed away by a panicked government. "The Doctor's Wife", played by Julianne Moore ("Children of Men"), fearing for her husband's safety, insists that she be taken as well, falsely claiming that she has also gone blind. In short order, both find themselves confined to a dismal quarantine facility that lacks staff, medical supplies, and all but the most basic requirements for survival.

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