Every week, we in Her.ie towers will provide you with a blast from the past, a film that you cannot live without but nor should you, the classic film that you simply need to watch.
This week, given that it's the wonderful Donald Sutherland's birthday today, we thought we would take a look a very underrated film, Don't Look Now.
Released in 1973, Don't Look Now was an independent English film that managed to catch on as a huge cult hit. Based on a short story by Daphne du Marnier, the film was critically lauded fo its unique treatment of a very difficult topic. On top of that, the editing work throughout the film is second to none while recurring themes and motifs made this an exceptionally dark thriller.
The film revolves around a married couple who have suffered the heartbreaking loss of their young daughter who drowned. In order to work on their marriage and try to forget about the terrible incident, the pair take a break in Venice. However, things take a strange turn when they run into two old nuns, one of which is blind and claims that she can see their drowned daughter. Events progress until the entire family, including their son back in England, are in danger but an inexplicably everything revolves around a woman in a red coat, just like their daughter's.
Don't Look Now is exceptional filmmaking at its best. Not only do you spend most of the running time in complete suspense about the woman in the red coat but the eerie nature of the Venice canals and the mist that surrounds them only feeds into that queasy sensation you will experience. The performances are exceptional, most notably Sutherland's who is trying to protect what is left of his family. He is the first to discover his daughter and his grief is impossible to measure.
Don't Look Now is probably most famous for THAT sex scene, one that is often claimed is real sex not just something that was filmed for the cameras but this takes away from how beautiful, stunning, heartbreaking and frightening the film actually is.
We urge you to seek it out. You simply won't regret it.
