Look Into My Eyes


A doctor sits telling an unseen person about how she is still haunted ten years after witnessing a 10 year-old girl arrive in the ER dead from a gunshot wound to the head and then having to notify the girl’s parents.  ‘How is she?’ the doctor asks of the psychic she is consulting in “Look Into My Eyes.”


Laura's Review: B

One wouldn’t normally think of a medical doctor consulting a psychic, a savvy opening movie by writer/director Lana Wilson ("Miss Americana") that immediately lets us know this documentary will not be what we expect.  Per her press notes statement, Wilson became intrigued by the subject after indulging in a reading right after the 2016 election, finding that the intimate human connection had affected her.  The pandemic made her consider their profession anew, and so she set out to profile them, zeroing in on seven New York City psychics.

Wilson leads off with a bang in the first session she presents where we witness both psychic and client.  Per Erik Borja says he’s sensing something about shrimp, an odd and specific subject, only for his client to respond that not only is shrimp his favorite food, but that he once won a bet where he had to eat them every day for a year.  Borja then grabs the word ‘tutu’ out of the air.  It happens to be the name of the man’s daughter’s favorite book.

But Wilson isn’t trying to prove psychic ability exists. Or debunk it for that matter.  Instead we hear how her seven subjects ended up on that path and witness their effect on the people who consult them.  Interestingly enough, all seven aspired to be actors at one point, Sherrie Lynne adding drama to her role as the ‘Party Psychic,’ but other than her theatrical flair, we never get the sense anyone here is acting.  What they all appear to share is a deep well of empathy.

Phoebe Hoffman was a depressive addict living in a codependent relationship with her dad in a one room apartment who tells us she was helped out of that rut more by psychics than anybody else.  She is now a pet psychic who we meet helping a woman who cannot understand why her beloved Boston terrier won’t walk on his leash.  Michael Kim meets with a young Asian woman who wants to know about her birth parents and reveals that he, too, was adopted.  What he tells her is unadorned, but delivered with kindness.  Later he reveals that about 5-6 years earlier, he began to experience all kinds of psychic phenomena and took classes to control it.  Eugene Grygo lives in an apartment so overstuffed, he may be a borderline hoarder, but he is the type of sensitive man one would wish for in a neighbor.  He specializes in loss, something which has affected him deeply. 

While we occasionally hear Wilson asking a question, we do not see her, her cinematographer Stephen Maing shooting her subjects interview style when he’s not following them around their living spaces, their sessions with clients warmly lit static two shots.  He will circle around the seven when they gather for a group prayer and blessing, led by psychic Nikenya Hall.  Cityscape cutaways are often breathtaking.

When we meet Borja again later, he’s struggling to connect and admits he sometimes wonders if he’s making it all up.  Kim is astonished when a woman from his high school consults him about someone they both knew, a more personal type of connection.  He’ll end up encouraging his old classmate to pursue the dream he knew she once had – to act!  Editor Hannah Buck makes a late-breaking impact by returning to that doctor she used to open Wilson’s film.

There is a warmth inherent in this film, and it’s not just Maing’s lighting.  Wilson asks us to look at psychics not as circus performers or charlatans, but as people who provide a service by listening and while their advice may often seem more oriented in common sense than the supernatural, they do appear to be helping people.



Robin's Review: B

Psychics: genuine or fake? That is the question NOT answered by documentary filmmaker Lana Wilson in her interesting look into the world of psychics, what they do and not quite how they do it in “Look Into My Eyes.”

I have never really thought about the psychic world since I am not a believer. The only thing I know is that the great prestidigitator Harry Houdini spent his later years debunking them. That said, I went into “Look Into My Eyes” with a pretty open mind.

One thing prominently noted by most of the talking head psychics is that they were failed actors who have changed profession because of a recently discover “gift.” Surprisingly, when these clairvoyants give readings to their clients, some of the details of their revelations evoke “how do they do that?”

We meet psychics from many walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. from those who contact deceased loved ones from a client’s past to “animal communicators” who will get in touch with your passed pet. One guy, for instance, wanted to contact his deceased bearded dragon to make sure he is OK.

“Look Into My Eyes” may convince the viewer that psychics are genuine and can contact the nether world and our no-longer-with-us loved ones. What I did not get is a feeling of deception or scam from any of the participating clairvoyants. And, their clients come away happy/sad with the knowledge that those that mean something to you are fine – even in the afterlife.


A24 releases “Look Into My Eyes” in select theaters on 9/6/24, expanding on 9/13/24.