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DON'T LOOK NOW - 1973
Paramount Pictures
Rated: Finland: K-16 / Norway: 18 / Sweden & UK: 15 (18 uncensored)
/ USA: R / West Germany: 16 |
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In 1973, two of the film world's biggest sex symbols were Donald Sutherland (INVASION
OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1978], THE PUPPET MASTERS, BUFFY
THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, VIRUS) and Julie Christie (DEMON
SEED, FAHRENHEIT 451). So when Nicolas Roeg (THE WITCHES), a British director already
notorious for the eroticism he injected into his first two features, cast
them in his third, it was understandable that audiences around the world
expected something that would get their pulses jumping.
They weren't disappointed, though not for the reasons they expected. DON'T LOOK NOW is one terrifying movie, with the kind of can't-take-your-eyes-off-it
suspense that labels anything an instant classic. It creeps up on you,
demands your attention, gets you to care about the characters, then pulls
the rug out from under you and declares, "You should have seen this
coming."
John and Laura Baxter are hurting. They've lost their little daughter Christine
(Sharon Williams) in a freak accident and, in an attempt to pull themselves together, John accepts a project in Venice
restoring an old church. Together they leave England and try to get on
with their lives in the romantic city of canals.
There, they meet two middle-aged sisters (played brilliantly
and, at times, hilariously by Hilary Mason and Clelia Matania),
one of whom is blind and, more importantly, psychic. And boy does she
have something to tell the Baxters. It seems little Christine's not as
gone as they think, her spirit's tagging along for the ride with some
urgent information. Laura immediately believes, but John is skeptical,
even after the sisters insinuate that he, too, has some latent psychic
abilities (somehow, he knew Christine was in danger
right before she died - and is that his daughter he keeps seeing, ducking
just out of sight along the streets of Venice, wearing the same red raincoat
she died in?). Then the proverbial shit hits the fan, because that's
not all, folks. It seems there's also a maniac stalking the streets of
Venice, killing people indiscriminately and baffling the police with every
new victim. How these two disparate plots - a family coping with unimaginable
loss, a city under siege - come together is the basis for one of the most
harrowing, tragic and beautifully directed climaxes in horror film history.
The script by Allan Scott and Chris Bryant (who also collaborated
on Peter Collinson's thriller THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE), from a story
by Daphne DuMaurier (REBECCA, THE BIRDS), takes its sweet time, and for a while you're not quite sure what you're
watching. Is this a horror movie? Is this a family drama? Things build
slowly, but patience is duly rewarded. It's definitely not a slam-bang
horror ride like RESIDENT EVIL or BLADE, but believe me, it's worth
every second. DON'T LOOK NOW is the kind of movie where clues and portents show up in every scene,
even if you don't realize it right away, and if you don't have the patience
for a slow build, this isn't the movie for you. But if you're interested
in an intelligent, thoughtful and well written horror movie from an time
before the Marketing Department started dictating script development, DON'T LOOK NOW won't disappoint.
Unfortunately,
the DVD itself does disappoint. It offers nothing special at all, just
a widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and a theatrical
trailer. The movie's presented in mono, too, which is a real shame considering
Pino Donaggio's (CARRIE, THE HOWLING) suspenseful and beautiful score. Director's commentary
would have been more than welcome, especially since the film itself is
so filled with omens and symbolism. The picture, however, is much clearer
than those old, out of print VHS tapes, and the widescreen presentation
makes Venice look even more beautiful than the video ever could. So while
I may be complaining about how Spartan the disc is, I'm still very happy
this movie's finally on DVD.
Oh, and one last thing. Nicolas Roeg didn't disappoint the flesh-seekers in
the audience after all: DON'T LOOK NOW does include an incredibly steamy sex scene between Donald Sutherland
and Julie Christie. Enjoy!
Five Shriek Girls, even though I'm tempted to take one away for the lack of DVD extras.
This review copyright 1999 E.C.McMullen Jr.
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