Don't Look Now
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Movie Reviews of Don't Look Now
Movie Review: Not for all tastes -- but a brilliant, frightening film
Summary: 5 Stars
DON'T LOOK NOW is a film for people with a particular taste, and the unwary viewer will either be pleasantly or unpleasantly shocked. From a seemingly simple premise -- a couple trying to overcome their daughter's death, and the odd psychic they meet while staying in Venice -- director Nicholas Roeg creates a thriller/horror movie/dazzling puzzles that slowly infects your mind and then shocks you with its bizarre twists.Be warned: this isn't a movie for everyone. It relies on visual puzzles and clues and an incredible lot of misdirection for its effect. This might bore some people; it had me riveted with the first scene and held me up through the mind-bending conclusion. Like THE SIXTH SENSE, SLEUTH, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, and THE OTHERS, the film is playing a massive deception on the audience and the characters, engaing in a strange game that pays off in an incredibly satisfying (if devastating) way. Every time you think you know what kind of story you're watching, the movie starts veering in another direction, and only the finale finally makes the purpose of the plot clear.
Director Roeg, a former cinematographer, crafts an eerie vision of Venice as damp, mouldy, and crumbling, and his visual compositions have a startling quality that adds to the bizarre and alienated moodof the film. Although few movies have directly copied the story of DON'T LOOK NOW, its directorial style has become the standard for such filmmakers as David Lynch, M. Night Shyamalan, and David Fincher.
This is a landmark piece of work and worth viewing if you enjoy films full of mystery and intelligence (for example, the movies I listed above) and unusual visual style.
Movie Review: Do Look At This Movie Now
Summary: 5 Stars
This film certainly rises above the genre of horrow movies and remains a classic after 30 years. Based on a story by Daphne du Maurier, the movie is set for the most part in Venice, the most mysterious of cities that is so conducive to horror, suspense and intrigue. (DEATH IN VENICE, THE COMFORT OF STRANGERS and THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY are just three other movies set in Venice that have some of the same eerie feel to them as this one does.)Two of the reasons for the success of this movie are Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, two of my favorite actors. I didn't remember Sutherland having that much hair if it's his; also, I never thought Julie Christie resembled Michael York before. (Someone should play with a computer and juxtapose their portraits, one over the other. The likeness would be striking.)Sutherland and Christie have just lost a daughter by drowning. While in Venice they meet spinster sisters, one who is blind, who tells the grieving Christie that she has "seen" her daughter. The plot gets scarier by the minute. There is a wonderful sense of forboding that builds into a horrific climax. The film is beautifully shot with images-- blood, water, Christie and the two sisters riding in a water taxi-- repeated.
The sex scene between Christie and Sutherland has to be one of the most erotic ever shot and remains so after 30 years. The director intersperses their sex romp with scenes of their getting dressed to leave their hotel, a great touch.
Certainly the movie is not as frightening the second time around since we know the outcome; that is certainly not a criticism, however.
DON'T LOOK NOW remains one of the best of the genre.
Movie Review: A stuningly beautiful supernatural thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
As a fan of films with a supernatural theme, I've heard of "Don't Look Now" from other such fans for years. I recently rented the DVD from netflix.com and found that it is one of those rare films that live up to the hype.The cinematography, baroque musical score, acting of all major roles, art direction and location shooting are all top-notch, almost beyond description. This is a film that could easily have been cheesy given the theme (dead daughter's ghost haunts guilty parents), but "Don't Look Now" never descends to the cheesy level. This is definately a masterpiece of the genre that deserves to take its place with others such as "The Haunting" (original version), "The Shining," "The Woman In Black," "The Wicker Man", Hitchcock's "Vertigo" and most of all, Jack Clayton's psychological/supernatural masterpiece, "The Innocents." Remarkably, although "Don't Look Now" is almost 30 years old, it has aged extremely well (if you can excuse Donald Sutherland's "mod" '70s hairdo).
If you are a fan of classy, well-made, intellegent supernatural thrillers, grab this film, and watch it again and again. It is one of those multi-layered films that shows you something new with every viewing, and that leaves enough unanswered questions and untied loose ends to keep you coming back for more and more. A stunning achievement, and one that makes me deeply regret that Nicholas Roeg hasn't been more productive over the years.
Now, if we could only get someone to release a DVD version of Jack Clayton's "The Innocents. . ."
Movie Review: Pain, Love, Lust, and Death In Venice
Summary: 5 Stars
"Don't Look Now" is a fortuitous result of a great story (Daphne Du Maurier); subtle and artful direction (Nicolas Roeg); superb acting (Donald Sutherland & Julie Christie as the anguished couple in love); dazzling cinematography; and a perfect musical score. I still remember the images and the impact from seeing this film in 1974-those images have been firmly planted in my brain for 29 years. This is a powerful, enigmatic film.It is interesting to watch this film back-to-back with "The Exorcist." Both are psychological thrillers. I feel that "The Exorcist" is the most frightening film ever made. But "The Exorcist" relies on gross visual effects to prompt the psychological horror; "Don't Look Now" is much more subtle.
If you are a film maniac like me, it is also interesting to watch "Don't Look Now" with your sole focus being to observe the use of the color red. It is pretty incredible. And after this film, you can never think of "Little Red Riding Hood" in the same way.
And then there is the much discussed and analyzed "sex scene." I prefer to think of it as the "making love" scene. The cuts between the "getting dressed" and "making love" segments are amazing; the "getting dressed" segments are just as erotic and convey the main characters' emotions just as powerfully as the "making love" parts.
I adore Julie Christie, and she is amazing in this film.
I place this film high on my list of "films that make an impact." I highly recommend this DVD. You will be moved!
Movie Review: A few things you should know about 'Don't Look Now'
Summary: 5 Stars
'Don't Look Now' constructs a world where nothing lasts, not even love.
It has two recurring currents: blue water and red blood.
The protagonist wears a blue coat and red scarf in the final scenes
to highlight this still further - like a dream within a dream.
Another theme is Venice itself (almost deserted in winter):
A spooky, mirror-like labyrinth, where birds cross silent waters.
The story is self-referential - a whirlpool, not a stream,
Filled with echoes or presentiments of past or future scenes.
The way the film proceeds is not entirely chronological,
And perhaps could almost be described as 'neo-symphonical'.
The themes are more important than the actual storyline,
And it's interesting to compare another classic from that time,
Namely 'The Wicker Man', with its haunting pagan music;
By contrast, 'Don't Look Now' is ITSELF a work of music,
Or perhaps a fractal mosaic (another important theme),
Which (as I said before) is like a dream within a dream.
What makes this movie timeless, though, is something quite elusive.
It will stay with you as long as you live - subconsciously intrusive.
You may also enjoy Time Struggle 1: The Wolves of Odin (Volume 1).