Don’t Look Now is about 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.

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Introduction

The incident that took place in Don’t Look Now reminds me so much of Lake Mungo (2008), just the incident though. Overall film performance, Don’t Look Now destroys Lake Mungo in every aspect. For two films that are 35 years apart, it’s evident that they make better films before with lesser tech to work with. As the saying goes “the less, the better.” Don’t Look Now was directed by the late great Nicolas Roeg (1928-2018).

Its a story about a husband and a wife, grieving the loss of their daughter, giving off that Antichrist (2009) vibes with the way they presented it. John (played by Donald Sutherland) accepts a job in Venice, Italy, and Laura Baxter (played by Julie Christie) went with him. There they met the two sisters with one (the blind one) claiming she’s clairvoyant and she sees their daughter seated in between them in the restaurant. She also said that John had the gift but he chose to ignore this, ultimately leading to an unfortunate ending.

Characters

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie had great chemistry. Their conversation and the way they interact with each other, even subtle reactions towards one another felt authentic. This is also by far one of the best performances I’ve seen of Sutherland’s.

The two sisters (played by Hilary Mason & Clelia Matania) were a great addition to the cast. Aside from driving the story forward, they added that mysteriousness and depth to Sutherland’s character.

The red hooded killer (played by Adelina Poerio, credited as “dwarf”) was shocking and creepy when it was revealed towards the end.

Tone & Dialogue

Since the beginning of Don’t Look Now, there was that sense of dread and eeriness that lingers in the air, and I loved it. It kept me on my toes, waiting for something to happen.

Dialogue was fluid and felt authentic. It’s like watching a real couple having a conversation.

Did you know?

The scene in the church where Laura lights a candle for Christine was mostly made up on the spot. It was originally written to show how differently John and Laura were dealing with their grief—John was in denial, and Laura couldn’t let go. The script had about two pages of dialogue showing how uneasy John was with Laura’s emotional display. But during a break while the crew was setting up, Donald Sutherland said he didn’t like the church, and Julie Christie shot back that he was being “silly” and called the church “beautiful.”

The director, Nicolas Roeg, thought their real-life banter felt way more natural and fit the characters better than the script, which he felt was a bit too much—so he scrapped the original lines and went with that instead.

There was a s3x scene between Sutherland and Christie’s character that looked real, like they were really doing it on set. It sparked controversy within the film community and the viewers, wanting to know if they really did it on set. The rumor soon died down and was reignited in 2011, Sutherland and Christie both made separate statements regarding this and shot the rumor down, denying anything of the sort ever happened in the first place.

Conclusion

Don’t Look Now is rarely talked about but will remain one of the classics in the horror genre. The eerie and dreadful feel throughout the whole film was great. Dialogue was fluid and nothing felt forced. Great cast of characters with amazing chemistry. This is a highly recommended watch.