Don’t Look Now is a psychological horror film directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as John and Laura Baxter. It deals with a heart wrenching events after a couple tragically loses their daughter. It dwells in the psychological depths created as the couple search for hope in the supernatural.
Where to Watch
A Family’s Grief
The film begins in England, Christine, in her red rain slicker, plays too close to a pond and drowns. This iconography becomes a reoccurring theme throughout the film. Flashing forward, the couple take an extended trip to Venice as an opportunity to start over. Their son, also John, remains behind in boarding school.
Big John (Donald Sutherland) take a job renovating an old cathedral. One day at lunch, Laura encounters two ladies at a restaurant, one of the ladies is blind. She claims to be psychic and that she was able to see Christine laughing and smiling as she sat between John and Laura. Laura wants to believe. As she returns to John, she faints, taking the table with her.
The Supernatural
John doesn’t believe any of it, but fails to confess that he too has seen the red rain slicker in photographs and glimpses of reality around Venice. It is hard to tell at this point if he is hiding his true feelings, or simply trying to preserve Laura’s sanity. Laura runs into the psychic ladies again; the blind woman, Heather, and Heather (Hilary Mason) her sister iClelia. This time Laura asks Heather if there is anyway to talk to Christine from beyond the grave. They make no promises, but agree to have her over for coffee.
John pushes back, but ultimately lets Laura attend the seance as a means to appease her. Laura learns from Heather that John has second-sight as well and Christine is warning John of danger from beyond.
Brilliant Execution
Don’t Look Now is an artful approach to psychological horror. It succeeds on many fronts. This film does as a tremendous job of depicting the anguish of losing a child. Upon finding his daughter in the pond, Donald Sutherland completely embodies the the horror and pain of finding their daughter dead.
The interplay between Laura and John as they navigate the sorrow is completely believable. They toe the line between subtle tension and total breakdown of their relationship; oscillating back and forth between the harsh reality of their circumstances and the twisted fantasy of their hopes beyond the grave.
Don’t Look Now does a tremendous job creating tension. Sometimes the release comes with a flash of a red raincoat. Sometimes it simply dissolves into confusion. Roeg creates a foreboding air of mystery surrounding Heather and the viewer really never knows if her intentions are for the good or the bad. The cinematography is exquisite. The cameras take full advantage of darkened silhouettes of Venice alleyways. Wide shot framing adds the feeling of an immense labyrinth of the the cities streets and canals.
Don’t Look Now – Sexy Time Controversy
A discussion of Don’t Look Now is not complete without mentioning the controversial sex scene. In 1973, there were still rules about how sex was to be depicted in film. It is how we ended up with 1000’s of movies depicting sex in the same unrealistic way. Think Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in Top Gun. Director Nicolas Roeg went for realism.
The scene itself is not overly explicit, but it deals directly with particulars of the act as John goes down on Lauren. It shows the thrusting of hips and the friction of love-making. It is all too real, and it does push boundaries. It offers an extremely effective device for demonstrate thatt their relationship is much like all of ours in love, sex and loss.
Since then, this type of scene would fail to surprise, but, at the time, it was ground breaking stuff.
Failed Landing
It’s really difficult comment on the finale without spoiling it, but it safe to say that it defines expectation. As tantalizing as that might sound, it is not a good thing in this case. In fact, it feels a bit cheap. It’s as id Nicolas Roeg give the audience a glowing box and claims that it holds the secrets of the Universe. One needs only turn the crank. When the music is over and the secret springs forth, it’s only a Jack-in-the-box.
In conclusion
For all that was wonderful about this film, it feels like a cheap trick in the end. Psychological horror films all to often paint themselves in the corner, requiring a twist in the end to sort it all out.
Regardless of its failure at the end, the movie is worth watching. It tackles a terrible topic that hopefully none of us ever have to deal with; the loss of a child. This horrible event lays the foundation for a rich tapestry of mystery, supernatural and emotional story telling. The movie was filmed with a passion for creating a brooding atmosphere out of a beautiful backdrop. It is this passion allows it to overcome its weaknesses. Horror fans that like this one might also enjoy Carnival of Souls (1962) or Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971).
Don't Look Now (1973) - The Psychology of Grief - Malevolentdark
Director: Nicholas Roeg
Date Created: 1970-01-01 00:32
3