Not to be confused with a true-crime docu-series from 2023, the A24 documentary Look Into My Eyes has flown largely under the radar for most movie-goers, despite earning strong ratings and reviews since its release last year. Thankfully, Look Into My Eyes was just made available on Max, so audiences who are looking to experience a profound, emotionally resonant journey through the metaphysical realm should be sure to check it out.
Directed by Lana Wilson and released in January 2024, Look Into My Eyes weaves a story of grief and humanity through the perspective of New York City psychics. The film was inspired by Wilson’s own encounter with psychic readings, which took place the day after Donald Trump’s first victory in the presidential elections, back in 2016. “I had a very depressing, horrifying night, like a lot of people did,” Wilson recounted. She admitted that she’d never before taken psychics very seriously, believing that it was the kind of entertainment one might expect to see at a bachelorette party, but nevertheless found herself forking over the five dollars.
“I immediately felt incredibly emotional – almost like I was looking in a mirror,” Wilson continued. “I had this thought [that] there is something so vulnerable about going to ask a complete stranger for help and advice, and I thought, ‘This is a really powerful experience.'” Following her reading, when conversing casually with the psychic, Wilson was captivated by the range of motivations that brought everyday people into such a spiritual place: loneliness, failed romances, strained family relationships.
Afterward, Wilson immediately sprung into research, developing the stories and people that would eventually bring Look Into My Eyes to life. But she soon encountered an unexpected delay in the form of a documentary about the world’s most sensational pop icon, and in 2020, Wilson released Miss Americana about the one and only Taylor Swift. As a result, by the time she returned to working on Look Into My Eyes, another wave of loneliness, fear, and despair had overtaken the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wilson’s documentary would take another four years to develop and produce, during which chaos, grief, and unimaginable loss have seemed ever-present.
‘Look Into My Eyes’ Is a Powerful and Deeply Relatable Story of Seeking Relief
The devastating landscape that overshadowed much of the production for Look Into My Eyes intensifies the already emotional journeys depicted in Wilson’s documentary. Although not every metaphysical encounter is devastating — many clients, for example, just want to know what their pet is thinking — the stories that do involve great personal trauma or loss become even more harrowing. For example, the documentary’s opening scene involves a doctor who feels haunted by the memory of losing one of her patients. Her guilt and grief are painfully, poignantly human, and it’s clear that Wilson’s desire to depict the emotions that lead people to seek psychic readings drives much of her film. Whatever the cause, these emotions are universal, after all.
Wilson’s narrative is also dominated by moments of intimacy and vulnerability — almost what one would expect to see in a therapy session. In fact, the psychics of Look Into My Eyes do seem very therapeutic, which perhaps was Wilson’s point all along. But where science and clinical settings might fail us, a more insubstantial, incorporeal world offers the potential for relief. “Personally, I don’t literally believe every word a psychic might say,” Wilson opined. “But I think the experience itself is incredibly powerful and transformative.”
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Look Into My Eyes Review: A Profound Exploration of Human Connection
Documentary filmmaker Lana Wilson observes New York City psychics and their clients.
Many reviews and reactions to Look Into My Eyes have also indicated a kind of transformative experience. The documentary earned a staggering 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics’ reviews praised Wilson’s empathetic and nonjudgmental approach to an often stigmatized subject. Sam Adams of Slate wrote:
“Whether or not you believe these psychics are communing with the dead — or, in one case, with the spirits of still-living animals — the interactions with their clients feel genuinely emotional in a way that is hard to dismiss entirely.”
Robert W. Butler of Butler’s Cinematic Scene also drew comparisons to therapy, observing: “Look into My Eyes won’t convince anyone of anything. But the film does suggest that psychic readings may provide emotional benefits for both parties, irregardless of any paranormal implications. Maybe we’re looking at it all wrong. It’s therapy.”
A group of New York City psychics conducts deeply intimate readings for their clients, revealing a kaleidoscope of loneliness, connection and healing.