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DontLookNow(1973)

Dir.NicolasRoeg

DontLookNowfollowsthelivesofJohnand

LauraBaxter.Havingrecentlylosttheirdaughter,they

attempttocontinuewiththeirlives,anindoingso,

theytraveltoVeniceinorderforJohntoworkontherenovationofanancientchurch.Lauraencounters

twoelderlysisters,oneofwhichissaidtobepsychic.

ShepresentsLaurawithdetailsconcerningevents

priortoherdaughtersdeath,instillinghopeinLaura

forthefirsttimesinceherdaughterpassedaway.

Thesesupernaturalelementsarearecurringmotifin

thefilm,withideasofpremonitionandextrasensory

perceptionplayingakeyroleintheplot.

Thefilmemploysarangeoftechniquesin

ordertopresenttheintricatesupernaturalelements

withthelivesofJohnandLaura.Anotablemethodusedthroughoutissharptransitionsfromsceneto

scene.

Therearemanyjarring,violentcutsin

DontLookNow,forgingstrangeassociations

acrosstimeandspace,andensuringthatweareindeedneverabletosimplylooknow

(Bitel,2011)

Thesesharptransitionsareputinplaceinordertoemulatethesuddenburstof

thoughttiedtothesensationofapremonition,effectivelyinducingasenseofuneaseand

genuinebefuddlementintheaudience.

Recurringmotifssuchasthecolourred(theraincoatwornbythedaughter,

Christine,theredwine/bloodacrossthenegative,etc)andrunningwater(thepondinwhichChristinedrowns,theentiresettingofVenice,etc)toywithFreudianideasoftheuncanny,

specifically,repetitionbeingconsidered unheimlich.Thesemotifsactasamethodof

maintainingtheaudiencesconstantawarenessoftheomnipresenceofChristinewithinthe

mindsofherparents,aswellascontributingtotheuneasytoneofthestory.

ConceivedinRoeg'susualimagisticstyleandpredicateduponaseriesofominous

associations(Mine,2006)

Thesemotifsalsoappeartotravelinpairs,sotospeak.Forexample,runningwater

isassociatedrepeatedlywithdeaththroughoutthefilm.Christinedrownsinthepond,a

corpseisseenbeingremovedfromtheVenetiancanals,aswellasafuneralgondolabeing

witnessedrepeatedlybyJohn.Onceagain,thistakesadvantageofideassurroundingthe

uncanny,keepingtheaudiencefullyawarethatifwaterispresent,deathwillsurelyfollow

closelybehind.Thiscontributestotheoverwhelmingtoneofsuspenseandtension,which

drivesthefilmfromthemomentitbegins.Theconstantanticipationfeltbytheaudience

makesthepointsofshockevenmoresowhensomethingtotallyunexpectedoccurs.Whilst

thisisbynomeansthefirstuseofsuspenseinafilm,itisastrikingexampleofhowto

employittogreateffect.

That'swhatthemoviedoesbest:Setupafeelingofmenaceandthensurroundits

characterswithsituationsfilledwithdanger.(Ebert,1973)

DontLookNowcouldbeconsideredconfusing,butthissenseofconfusionsimply

confirmsthatthefilmissucceedinginwhatitsetouttodo;toabsorbtheaudienceinthe

utterlyuncontrollablemindsetofagriefstrickenindividual.Theerraticnatureofhowthe

filmplaysoutisauniqueinterpretationoftotallyscatteredandunkemptthoughtprocesses,

Fig1.Don'tLookNowFilmPoster

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atotalmentalshutdown.Itisthisthatgivesthefilmitslastingimpact,andultimatelywhat

makesitsucceedasawhole.

Bibliography

Quotes

Bitel,A.(2011)DontLookNow.In:littlewhitelies.co.uk20.6.11[online]http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/dvds/dont-look-now-15300(Accessedon3/1/12)

Mine,T.(2006)DontLookNow.In:timeout.com24.6.06[online]

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/65675/dont_look_now.html(Accessedon3/1/12)

Ebert,R.(1973)DontLookNow.In:rogerebert.suntimes.com20.12.73[online]

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19731220/REVIEWS/312200301/1023

(Accessedon3/1/12)

ListofIllustrations

Fig.1.DontLookNowFilmPosterFrom:DontLookNowDirectedby:NicholasRoeg.[filmposter]UK:

CaseyProductions