A Brief Introduction to 'Don't Look Now' (1973)

(Blog written Winter, 2016)

(Don't Look Now)

Adapted from a short story by Daphne Du Maurier (author of Rebecca and The Birds), Nicolas Roeg directs a haunting tale of guilt and obsession, and explores the psychic and psychological duality of life.

After the tragic death of their daughter, John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) seek refuge in John’s work (an art historian) in Venice. Roeg uses the beautiful setting of Venice to create a consistently creepy and unsettling mood, exploiting its gothic architecture and claustrophobic alleyways which at night let off an eerie emptiness. Furthermore, underneath the surface of the couple’s minds is a crippling sense of grief and guilt, especially with John. The psychological background feeds into the psychic as two very odd sisters, one being a psychic, connects with Christine and Laura becomes attached to the idea that she is still around. John, on the other hand, is in denial, of not only the psychic, but also the deep-rooted guilt and anger as he buries himself in work. He, Mark Sanderson states, is “half in love with easeful death” to release the pain of this trauma and to join his loved one in death (1996, pp. 62). As well as this tragic hopefulness of release, his denial is also what kills him. In one hauntingly shot scene he sees his own funeral pass by on a boat. In this moment, he refuses to see his own fate in the mirror. This one of many beautifully crafted moments of foreshadowing that add another layer to the unsettling atmosphere.

Ultimately, Don’t Look Now is an incredibly intriguing study of grief and an expertly crafted horror film.