Don’t Look Now

Don’t Look Now is a British-Italian made movie from 1973 Directed by Nicolas Roeg and starred Julie Christie and  Donald Sutherland On a budget of $1.1 million.

The film grew in stature due to the controversial sex scene. The Daily Mail said”it contains one of the frankest sex scenes ever to be filmed” and was given an R rating in America and was also given an X rating adults-only film by the British Board of Film Classification.

Roeg drew inspiration for the film when he worked as a cinematographer on The Mask Of The Red Death and also Inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock and the 39 Steps.

During the filming Roeg wanted Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland to attend a real seance. Which both Christie and Sutherland agreed to.

While the film hits the spot with so many as a Thriller the film focuses on the psychology of losing a child and the grief surrounding that and the effect it has on a relationship.The film also contains strong supernatural plot elements.

The film’s reputation has grown over the years and is now considered a classic as a British Horror film.

 

The Plot.

After the drowning of their daughter Christine in a tragic accident at their English home.The Baxters( Julie Christie) and (Donald Sutherland) decide to take a trip to Venice were John played by Sutherland has been commissioned to restore a Church.

Laura played by Christie meets two elderly sisters while dining out. One of the sisters Heather who is blind is a psychic and tells Laura that her daughter is trying to contact her at that Laura faints and gets taken to the hospital.

After being released from hospital John and Laura get separated while walking home and John sees the figure of a small child in a red coat similar to the one his daughter was wearing when she died.

Through the film, John sees the little child in the red coat running through the many tunnels in Venice which leads to John trying to follow her but losing sight of the child on many occasions in the film. As you watch this happen you share in his grief of trying to hang on to someone that is lost and the longing of the little child being his.

Also throughout the film in the background of John searching for this lost child, there are horrific murders happening and this builds to the foreboding and fear that there’s something not quite right about this mysterious figure of the child.

This builds to a horrific and gruesome ending to the film which leaves people on the edge of their seats.

A must watch for any Horror fan.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069995/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/don-t-look-now

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Look_Now