On Demand Weekly

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand and from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: Don’t Look Back (Ne Te Retourne Pas). Tell us what you think at mailbag@ondemandweekly.com.

Directed by Marina de Van, Don’t Look Back (IFCFilms).

The French psychodrama Don’t Look Back follows Jeanne (Sophia Marceau), a French writer, wife and mother of two, whose world becomes disturbingly unsettled as she starts to see her life unravel. She first witnesses small changes taking place in her home, and her hysteria escalates as she literally morphs into an Italian woman with the same name (Monica Bellucci); but surprisingly, no one around her seems to notice. She doesn’t recognize her husband, her children and her own mother.

Jeanne is certain that the changes happening around her symbolize something profound, but her family dismisses her fears as the result of stress and fatigue from writing her novel. She ultimately goes in search of a mysterious woman who will be able to bring new understanding to the sudden chaos.

Director Marina de Van sets in motion a painstakingly slow-paced movie, establishing Jeanne’s obsessive behavior as she searches every aspect of her life to find out why things are happening to her. We later see Jeanne #1 (Marceau) actually turn into Jeanne #2 (Bellucci) right before our eyes, but only partially, as the director emphasizes the dual personalities residing in the same body. These two women end up sharing two sides of the same face for a short period of time before Bellucci eventually triumphs.

Additional metamorphoses take place throughout the film, including Marceau’s husband and her mother changing into new versions. Instead of creating heightened drama toward Jeanne’s confusion, the visual effect does the opposite, creating a feeling of utter ridiculousness for the audience. Marina de Van continues down this path of change as Jeanne #2 changes again into a younger girl when she discovers her real identity.

In the end, de Van reconciles all of the tortured souls, and the separate versions of Marceau and Bellucci live happily ever after together. They cheerfully remember their happy childhood while sitting side by side, grinning at each other. Despite the film’s engaging start that boasts great performances by Marceau and Bellucci, Don’t Look Back is both disjointed and confusing and does not quite hit the mark.


- Lorisa Bates


Lorisa Bates is a new contributing writer to On Demand Weekly. She is currently Sr. Director of Program Planning & Scheduling for Showtime Networks Inc. and an aspiring writer/producer for feature films.

Don't Look Back available On Demand until 9/14/10

Run time: 1111 min / Rating: R