Shortly after the accidental death of their daughter, a couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) go to Venice as they both deal with grief in their own way. Oh and there might be a killer on the loose too.
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Back in the silent era the Russians were obsessed with editing. They developed all kinds of theories and tested them in very scientific ways. Sergi Eisenstein in particular was obsessed with examining how the order in which we see images can alter our emotional reactions to them. Shot A + Shot B = X, but Shot B + Shot A = Y. Such a subtle change in order can yield wildly different results. What might have been humorous before, can suddenly become suspenseful. As English director Nicolas Roeg's filmography has shown time and again: the same applies to the order of scenes.
By cutting freely between past, present and future, Roeg is able to weave tension into even the most mundane scene because we already know what lies ahead. And when you are never certain where the next cut will take you, every cut is filled with suspense. Something as simple as the color red can be either a harbinger of impending doom or a reminder of unspeakable grief. It's all about context.
Though the common consensus is that the horror genre is without artistic merit, Don't Look Now goes to show that in the hands of the right filmmaker, anything is possible.
I liked this movie - and I had no idea about Russian editing. The original short story was a bit more vivid (or was that my imagination?). Have you read the story? It was written by Daphne du Maurier, who also wrote Rebecca and The Birds. Quite a macabre queen, that Daphne.
ReplyDeleteI'm ashamed to say that I hardly read any fiction - unless it's a comic book. Something about holding narratives in my brain for prolonged periods. I need to get better about that before the new Salinger stories are published. Considering that this is based on a short story I SHOULD be able to hold my attention. We shall see...
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