Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now is a thriller of the most terrifying kind. It is eerie, it is bizarre, and it is frightening. From the very beginning, an unsettling feeling sneaks its way under your skin and stays there well after the credits roll. My heart is still racing as I write this review. Married couple John and Laura Baxter (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) lose their daughter in a freak drowning. Some time later, they find themselves in Venice as part of John's work renovating an old Italian church. There Laura meets two sisters, one of whom is blind and claims to be psychic. She tells Laura that she has seen their daughter--sitting in between them, happy--which gives her hope and joy again. There is much more to the plot that I won't reveal, but I have laid out the groundwork that supports the film's mood and generates the audience's unease.Most technical aspects had both good and bad qualities. Although the characters were well-developed, the acting had me perplexed. The cinematography had a really dated look most of the time and could often be frustrating; however, part of the terror invoked is only made possible through the subtleties of the shots themselves. I cannot imagine another movie were Venice looks so dead and threatening. But I have the same qualms with the editing. It was hard to enjoy its avant-garde nature, but at times it served the atmosphere so utterly well that I cannot dismiss it as bad on the whole. The script itself was a bit disappointing save for a few key scenes, but Roeg's excellent and sometimes experimental direction elevated the movie past these flaws. Because the odd editing and cinematography force themselves on the movie since the beginning, it can be hard to get into it. But if you do, it will be well worth it.
Also, something to note: audio levels were consistently uneven. Although it may simply be a remastering problem, that's what you're gonna have to deal with when you watch the movie.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069995/