| Don't Look Now (1973) | |
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Rating: 7.1/10 (62,089 votes) Director: Nicolas Roeg Writer: Daphne Du Maurier, Allan Scott, Chris Bryant Stars: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason Runtime: 110 min Rated: R Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery Released: 01 Jan 1974 |
| Plot: A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond. | |
Nic Roeg’s adaptation of the supernatural short story by Daphne Du Maurier is a film which gained notoriety for one particular scene, which sadly means that many people don’t know it for the gem of a film it really is. The scene in question, we will come to in a bit. This is a film I first discovered when I was around 19 or 20, having seen it one night on a TV broadcast. The film, whilst remaining decidedly faithful to the story that inspired it, takes a slightly different approach than you would expect, with Roeg choosing instead to focus on the impact of grief on a relationship.
Whilst the book started the tale as John and Laura, a married couple who recently lost their daughter to meningitis, arrive in Venice for a holiday, the film instead takes a different approach, having the daughter die by misadventure, falling into a lake near their home and drowning. This allows Roeg to do two things early on. The first is highlight some of the themes of foreshadowing and precognition, as John (played expertly by Donald Sutherland) senses something is wrong, and races out to drag his daughter from the lake – the horror of despair on his face all so real as he does it. Secondly, having water as the cause of death allows symbolic aspects throughout the Venice setting, especially in moments such as those when bodies are lifted from the Venice waters, haunting memories for John who had almost moved on.
The haunting look on Sutherland’s face in this scene truly conveys the distress of the moment.
The story, once the pair are in Venice, sees the pair encounter a pair of sisters, one blind with the gift of second sight. Her interaction with Laura (Julie Christie) sees her tell her that she can ‘see’ her daughter. Further interactions see her warn that the couple must leave Venice as they will come to peril there. When Laura leaves for England after their son has an accident, John sees her on a boat with the sisters, and raises police concern…but did he really see them, or is his mind playing tricks on him. Also, who is the small child in the red coat, similar to that his daughter was wearing when she died?
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Don’t Look Now is a film in which the final revelation (which will not be spoiled here) offers a shock twist, and also serves to clarify some of the elements from earlier in the film. Foreknowledge of the reveal, however, doesn’t result in the film being weaker, as on repeated viewings you can appreciate the layers that Roeg put in, and the nuances of grief that are so realistically played out. In the early Venice scenes, the couple are cold and distant to each other. Laura is on medication since the loss of their daughter, whilst John has thrown himself into his work, restoring a church to its former glory. However, after the encounter with the sisters, Laura finds a new lease on life, and the change in her demeanour warms their relationship up once again, leading to the controversial scene mentioned earlier as they make love for the first time in a long while, their relationship building again. The scene is raw in the sensuality, and extremely realistic (it is still debated to this day whether it was really acting), and very essential. We need to see how the pair reconnect, and we need to feel it. However, as Laura becomes obsessed with the idea that their daughter’s spirit is with them, John starts to distance himself again, as the haunting memories of her death come flooding back, creating a rift in the couple once more. There are no over-dramatics to the play here, but simple mannerisms and realistic approaches to the scenes. Roeg’s direction, and use of back and forth editing, working well to keep the film grounded, whilst always giving a sense that something isn’t quite right.
Worth noting that Roeg manages to capture the beauty of Venice, but also makes it look seedy in other moments.
Don’t Look Now is a sterling example of independent filmmaking from an era when build up, drama, and development of characters was far more important than shocks and scares, with an on screen pairing of two of the best actors of the era. A stunning portrayal of grief, with a supernatural edge, it deservedly belongs a part of any serious film collection.
