"Hysterical Blindness", which has nothing to do with the psychogenic condition suggested by the title, is a gritty character study with Thurman at the vortex as a graspingly needy working class woman whose poor sense of self drives her like a derailed freight train into the arms of a man who uses her like a Bic. Supporting cast members Rowlands and Lewis portray characters who are also manless but with contrastingly better coping skills. An excellent slice-of-life flick set in backstreet-under-the-bridge-and-by-the-railroad-tracks Jersey, "HB" is a riveting watch for those into character driven dramas about working class people. (B+)