Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier and directed by Nicholas Roeg, Don't Look Now is a master class in suspense and horror, a film bound by a psychological tension that pulls at the viewer within seconds of the opening scene. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play John and Laura Baxter whose young daughter drowns in a freak accident. Devastated by their loss, they travel to Venice in an attempt to forget, but soon meet a clairvoyant who claims to have made contact with the dead girl. As the couple are drawn deeper in, their frantic search for their daughter is signposted by omens of doom and premonitions, leading to a climax that guarantees it a place as one of the greatest British horror films. Sutherland and Christie are excellent in their roles, totally convincing as a couple torn by grief. What separates this film from its rivals is it's sheer originality; the brilliant camera angles that almost make you breathe the characters, and the highly charged (and controversial) sex scene. This could have been like any other, but the directors use of inter-cutting the scene with shots of the couple dressing is as clever as it is original, familiarising the viewer with the couple on a far deeper level. The result is a film as complex and deep as Venice itself, with a catalogue of emotions that leaves it's mark on the viewer's memory.
