Taglines: Pass the warning.
Don’t Look Now movie storyline. A married couple is haunted by a series of mysterious occurrences after the death of their young daughter in this enigmatic chiller. Based on a story by Daphne du Maurier, whose works inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and The Birds, the film centers on Laura and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie), who have recently relocated to Venice so that John can oversee the architectural restoration of an old church.
Both hope that the change of environment will allow them to forget the recent tragic demise of their child, but they instead find themselves surrounded by reminders of death, as the city attempts to deal with a series of unexplained murders. The eeriness intensifies when they encounter a blind psychic and her eccentric sister, who promise to contact her daughter’s spirit. Laura embraces the idea, but John remains skeptical until he experiences his own visions: fleeting glimpses of someone in a red coat similar to one that belonged to his daughter.
Don’t Look Now is a 1973 English-language film directed by Nicolas Roeg. It is a thriller adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portray a married couple who travel to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter, after the husband accepts a commission to restore a church. They encounter two sisters, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their daughter is trying to contact them and warn them of danger. The husband at first dismisses their claims, but starts to experience mysterious sightings himself.
While Don’t Look Now observes many conventions of the thriller genre, it focuses on the psychology of grief and the effect the death of a child can have on a relationship; this depiction of grief has been identified as unusually strong for a film featuring supernatural plot elements. The film is renowned for its innovative editing style, recurring motifs and themes, and for a controversial sex scene that was explicit by the standards of then-contemporary mainstream cinema.
It also employs flashbacks and flashforwards in keeping with the depiction of precognition, but some scenes are intercut or merged to alter the viewer’s perception of what is really happening. It adopts an impressionist approach to its imagery, often presaging events with familiar objects, patterns and colours using associative editing techniques. The film’s reputation has grown in the years since its release and it is now considered a classic and an influential work in horror and British film.
About the Story
Sometime after the drowning of their young daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), in an accident at their English country home, John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) and his grief-stricken wife Laura (Julie Christie) take a trip to Venice after John accepts a commission from a bishop (Massimo Serato) to restore an ancient church. Laura encounters two elderly sisters, Heather (Hilary Mason) and Wendy (Clelia Matania), at a restaurant where she and John are dining; Heather claims to be psychic and—despite being blind—informs Laura she is able to “see” the Baxters’ deceased daughter. Shaken, Laura returns to her table, where she faints.
Laura is taken to the hospital, where she later tells John what Heather told her. John is sceptical but pleasantly surprised by the positive change in Laura’s demeanour. Later in the evening after returning from the hospital, John and Laura have passionate sex. Afterwards, they go out to dinner where they get lost and briefly become separated. John catches a glimpse of what appears to be a small child (Adelina Poerio) wearing a red coat similar to the one Christine was wearing when she died.
The next day, Laura meets with Heather and Wendy, who hold a séance to try to contact Christine. When she returns to the hotel Laura informs John that Christine has said he is in danger and must leave Venice. John loses his temper with Laura, but that night they receive a telephone call informing them that their son (Nicholas Salter) has been injured in an accident at his boarding school. Laura departs for England, while John stays on to complete the restoration. Shortly after, John is nearly killed in an accident at the church when the scaffolding collapses and he interprets this as the “danger” that was foretold by the sisters.
Later that day, and still under the assumption that Laura is in England, John is shocked when he spots her on a passing boat that is part of a funeral cortege, accompanied by the two sisters. Concerned about his wife’s mental state and with reports of a serial killer at large in Venice, he reports Laura’s disappearance to the police. The inspector (Renato Scarpa) investigating the killings is suspicious of John and has him followed.
After conducting a futile search for Laura and the sisters—in which he again sees the childlike figure in the red coat—John contacts his son’s school to enquire about his condition, only to discover Laura is already there. After speaking to her to confirm she really is in England, a bewildered John returns to the police station to inform the police he has found his wife. In the meantime the police have brought Heather in for questioning, so an apologetic John offers to escort her back to the hotel.
Don’t Look Now (1973)
Directed by: Nicolas Roeg
Starring: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa, Giorgio Trestini, Sharon Williams, Adelina Poerio, Bruno Cattaneo, Ann Rye
Screenplay by: Allan Scott, Chris Bryant
Cinematography by: Anthony B. Richmond
Film Editing by: Graeme Clifford
Makeup Department: Giancarlo Del Brocco, Maria Luisa Garbini, Barry Richardson
Art Direction by: Giovanni Soccol
Music by: Pino Donaggio
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: October 16, 1973
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