"Don't Look Now" made its impression on me a little while after I had finished it. During the film itself, I was not particularly confused, shocked or horrified by any of the events on the screen. The film itself is definitely unsettling and a bit creepy, but it is never clear exactly why until one considers it later. On some levels it seems to be an indictment of occultism and spiritualist beliefs. But then the story's methods of foreshadowing and the cyclical, coincidental occurrences later in the plot struck me as a revelation of something ominous, dark and sinister.
Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play John and Linda Baxter, a married couple whose young daughter dies in an accident at their estate in England. Soon after the couple relocate to Venice to work on a job restoring a dilapidating cathedral. In Venice, the locales are notably aloof, the streets are deserted, a killer is on the loose, and a blind psychic claims to see the Baxter's dead daughter. A strange, sad quality lurks behind the environment and strange incidents befall the couple.
An important thing to note about the film is how professionally it is made. The entire cast and crew seem to put real effort into the whole production. There is a wonderful original score to accompany the moods and scenery, the Venetian locale is effectively foreboding, and the melancholic desperation of John and Linda bleeds subtly through the story. The movie is apparently famous for its drawn-out love scene (where we get to see more of Donald Sutherland than Julie Christie). It is certainly longer than most mainstream sex scenes, and came across to me as cheesy for the music included (and aren't most movie sex scenes totally over-the-top?). But it works to establish the couple's intimacy early on in the story.
All in all, "Don't Look Now" won me over as a well-crafted, melancholic little thriller.
Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play John and Linda Baxter, a married couple whose young daughter dies in an accident at their estate in England. Soon after the couple relocate to Venice to work on a job restoring a dilapidating cathedral. In Venice, the locales are notably aloof, the streets are deserted, a killer is on the loose, and a blind psychic claims to see the Baxter's dead daughter. A strange, sad quality lurks behind the environment and strange incidents befall the couple.
An important thing to note about the film is how professionally it is made. The entire cast and crew seem to put real effort into the whole production. There is a wonderful original score to accompany the moods and scenery, the Venetian locale is effectively foreboding, and the melancholic desperation of John and Linda bleeds subtly through the story. The movie is apparently famous for its drawn-out love scene (where we get to see more of Donald Sutherland than Julie Christie). It is certainly longer than most mainstream sex scenes, and came across to me as cheesy for the music included (and aren't most movie sex scenes totally over-the-top?). But it works to establish the couple's intimacy early on in the story.
All in all, "Don't Look Now" won me over as a well-crafted, melancholic little thriller.