Don't Look Now (1973) ****1/2

Don’t Look Now (1973) has always felt like more of a thriller and a moving drama to me than a horror film—at least until the last 15 minutes. In that way it’s much like Daphne du Maurier’s (whose 1971 short story serves as the basis of this film) Rebecca (1938), which was also famously adapted to film by Alfred Hitchcock. Of course since DLN was directed by Nicolas Roeg, it's a whole different type of experience. Concerning a married couple in Venice following the death of their young daughter, DLN is a film that focuses on the aftermath of the death, the grief that pervades the couple, and two sisters (one clairvoyant) that persist in their lives. 

Roeg's film is noteworthy for many reasons. Among them are its actors' willingness to fully commit to their roles, its unconventional editing style and manipulation of time, combined with a fractured (and at times intentionally glacially paced) narrative, its frank depictions of nudity, including a sex scene between leads Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland so explicit and convincing for the time that it sparked an ongoing debate as to whether it was simulated or not, its striking use of red to make certain objects pop against the drab overcast palette and melancholic atmosphere of the film, and composer Pino Donaggio’s feature film debut score—at times gentle, lush, dissonant and grand.

Don't Look Now is rightly considered a classic—it's an ambiguous, mysterious and melodramatic film with an air of the supernatural, helmed by a visionary director who did his best to never compromise. 

You can find my Nicolas Roeg Feature Films Ranked list here.