Review of Don't Look Now (1936) by Jesse T — 03 Dec 2007

What a very, very creepy film. It's billed as "a psychic thriller" and that it is, for the supernatural feeling this film has is what makes it so eerily masterful. But this film is so much more than strange happenings; it's in the quick flashes of subliminal images that you soon realize this film is going to be much more than that.

Don't Look Now is a slow-moving film that may bore some viewers, but in it's slow pace many important and key moments happen that reveal details about John (Sutherland) and Laura's (Christie) crumbling relationship and about each of them respectively. The scenes are so emotionally heavy and you can feel a sort of cloud hovering over every second that the couple is on screen together (and even when they're not).

The film begins at the Baxter's home in London where John is examining old photo slides. Their daughter and son are playing in the backyard, but not together. As their son rides his bike through the wet grass, their daughter is walking dangerously close to the edge of the pond. Clad in a stunningly red plastic raincoat, she slowly makes her way down the side of the pond until she drops her rubber ball into the water. As John comes across one of the photos in his album, a picture of an empty church that's focused on the altar with only one person seated in the pews (a small person in a red coat), he spills his drink over the photos and sees a red mark begin to form around the figure in the photo. All of a sudden, he feels something is wrong, and runs into the backyard to find his daughter submerged in the pond. He runs to rescue her, but as he lifts her lifeless body out of the water he realizes it's too late. It was then, when he howls at the sky in anger, that I realized this film was already brilliantly constructed.

The previously mentioned scene is one of the most brilliant I have ever seen. It relies on its visuals and cinematic language rather than on its spoken dialogue and Roeg pulls off one of the most strangely beautiful scenes in the history of film. The colour red is prominent in this film appearing everywhere and anywhere the couple seem to go after the child's death. Their daughter wore a red raincoat - Sutherland wears a red scarf - Christie wears red plastic boots - the psychic woman wears a red sweater. The reoccurring colour represents the burden that the couple keeps on their shoulders. Even though they may deny it, they still feel guilty and think of their daughter every day and this colour reinforces their guilt and burden.

The famous sex scene in this film which lasts longer than most sex scenes might is one of the most acknowledged of its kind. It shows Christie and Sutherland undress and perform routine tasks in the nude before getting into bed. They sit and talk and as the lovemaking begins (which was quite erotic for its time) flashes of the intercutting scenes appear showing the couple getting dressed and smiling. These unexpected intercutting scenes showing these people doing normal things along with the raw erotic sex scene is Roeg's touch to make these people seem real and let us become personally attatched with them (a similar scene is used in Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut).

Constant symbolism and metaphors have frequent roles in this film. The symbol of an arc occurs a few times: once, when the photo slide of the church starts turning red after the drink is spilled on it, an arc of red forms over the stained glass window, and a second time when we are first introduced to Heather (the blind psychic woman) who wears a arc-shaped brooch.

Also, during the film, John keeps seeing a red-coated figure run through the alleys of Venice. This figure becomes vital to the conclusion of the film (which is bloody frightening I might add) where John falls victim to his disbelief in the supernatural (which his wife strongly believed in). I can't say too much or I might just give away some bits.

Amazing performances that went underlooked and fantastic direction from Roeg contribute to the film's emotional impact.

A chilling stunner and aesthetic masterpiece, Don't Look Now is one of the greatest horror achievements of all time. Highlighted by Roeg's direction and the brilliant cinematography from Anthony Richmond (and Roeg), this film is a mandatory viewing for any cinema fan. I recommend this to everyone, but don't expect a quick-paced gore-fest. This film is a work of art so expect something brilliant.