© 2008 William Ahearn
Daphne Du Maurier once remarked in an interview that of all her stories translated to the screen, Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 film “Don’t Look Now” is her favorite. No wonder. Roeg had a great decade in the 1970s (he also directed “Performance” (1970), “Walkabout” (1971) and “The Man Who Fell to Earth” (1976)) and “Don’t Look Now” may be his best work.
John and Laura Baxter (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) are living in Venice where John is restoring an old church. Still grieving for their daughter who drowned while they were in the United States, Venice is providing some distraction from the memories. One day at lunch they meet two older women — sisters — one of whom is blind and claims to be a psychic. Laura and the older women strike up a friendship in spite of John’s reluctance to the idea that the psychic can “see” their daughter.
And there’s a knife-wielding killer on the loose, slipping through the dark in the piazzas and the over the bridges that span the canals.
This is a fine thriller with a dash of woo-woo that really works. It’s one of my favorite films and everything – cinematography, acting, pacing, script, location – all work together to bring the story to its dreadful end. There is also a very famous sex scene in the beginning.
“Don’t Look Now” is an adult and satisfying thriller.