A nice little thriller that would be even nicer if it were half an hour shorter. Madeleine Stowe plays a blind violinist in an alternative band who regains her sight through a corneal transplant only to become an eyewitness to a murder. Aidan Quinn is the detective she becomes involved with. Directed by Michael Apted from a witty script by Dana Stevens, this movie has a lot of things going for it: lively cinematography by Dante Spinotti that contrives to suggest the peculiarities of the heroine’s regained sight and makes the most of some Hopper-esque lighting schemes; a good use of Chicago locations (Stowe lives with her seeing-eye dog at Milwaukee and Damen); charismatic and inventive performances by the two leads, with Stowe feisty and energetic and Quinn intermittently recalling Montgomery Clift; and good backup work by others in the cast (James Remar, Peter Friedman, Bruce A. Young, Paul Dillon, Matt Roth, and Laurie Metcalf). There’s also pleasant music by the Drovers, the Chicago band that Stowe’s character plays in. (JR)