ViewGuide

Created Dec 29, 2009 05:18PM PST • Edited Dec 29, 2009 05:18PM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   As evidenced by an unforgettable shake of a head, fate’s an inescapable force once more in Nicolas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now,” a film that’s both deeply engaging and somewhat overpraised. Raves do Roeg’s film no favours, exaggerating the chills that are almost non-existant up until the ending that claims Donald Sutherland in the film’s most visceral act of violence. Yet while “Don’t Look Now” would fail as a horror movie designed specifically to ellicit scares, its more overt purpose as an alaysis of the differing grieving processes of John (Sutherland) and Mary Baxter (Julie Christie) following the drowning of their daughter Christine (Sharon Williams) is the single greatest success that it may lay claim to. In Venice, John might appear to be going through the motions while Mary finds some semblance of inner peace following an encounter with two well-meaning elderly sisters (the blind one being the movie’s hilarious choice for psychic) who may or may not be totally full of shit. Seeing Mary as frantic, John attempts to persuade her away from the ladies’ claims, insisting that their deceased daughter isn’t, in fact, walking about the city between the pair (laughing or no). Yet the sights John begins to experience and ultimately the pursuit that leads to labyrinth-set doom would suggest a niggling, deep-down belief. Roeg’s adaptation of the Daphne Du Mourier story doesn’t quite imagine the existence of grief, regret and guilt as powerfully as movies like Fernando Eimbcke’s “Lake Tahoe” and Todd Louiso’s underrated “Love Liza” do, but it does feature great lead performances courtesy of Sutherland and Christie, the career-best cinematography by Anthony B. Richmond (who would later slum it for the sake of trash like “Employee of the Month” and “Good Luck Chuck”) adding another layer of achievement. And while one supposes discussion of “Don’t Look Now” may never be complete without talk of the infamous, explicit sex scene Sutherland and Christie share, nothing else in the movie actually compares to the glory of the opening set-piece – Christine’s early death. If the film as a whole isn’t the masterpiece some would claim, the mini-masterwork that is the spectacular use of colour and intercutting opening Roeg’s pic drags us well and truly into the sometimes ingenious film, ensuring you’ll never look at a red coat the same again.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

6. Female Stars Great 4.0

7. Female Costars Good 3.0

8. Male Costars Very Good 3.5

10. Film

    Great 4.0

11. Direction Great 4.0

12. Play Great 4.0

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Great 4.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.3

17. Sex Erotic 3.5

18. Violence Fierce 2.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.3

21. Reality

    Supernatural 3.1

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 3.1

23. Biological Supernatural 3.1

24. Physical Supernatural 3.1