Look (2007) Reviews

• LOOK away

  akingofcomedy2010-10-30

  So it's obviously a concept film, and on face value it could've been a good one. Instead though, it is a convoluted and clearly manufactured patchwork of pointlessness. I read the first third of a novel years back that was entirely told through various forms of correspondence such as faxes, emails, police reports and newspaper clippings. Sound interesting at first, but after about seventy pages I realized it wasn't clever just based on that idea alone. That's exactly how I felt here. No real characters, no real build to tension - and bam, it's over leaving far too much unresolved, and failing to effectively make a point. There are next to no happy moments caught on these cameras, only dreadful scenarios that, I suppose, we were expected to voyeuristic all enjoy. And the icing on this distasteful cake is that it suffers by failing to pass the Blair Witch test. I was dumbfounded that anyone would believe BWP was actual footage. If you know the first thing about cameras (or the rules of evidence) you would immediately know it was fiction. Except with Blair Witch it was done so well you could suspend that disbelief. Not here - the footage looks so mechanically blocked and timed for each shot that it becomes a distraction. My favorite example of this was footage from a school parking lot where something really unfortunate happens. It's a good thing they had five different camera angles pointed at that one particular parking space. I just wish they'd have turned one of those many lens toward the script.

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• Huge disappointment

  dmasursky2009-05-27

  I expected some commentary on the intrusiveness of surveillance cameras or on our voyeuristic culture, but the movie is very much NOT that. It uses the STYLE of surveillance cameras, which is a clever idea, but the film simply exploits our voyeuristic tendencies rather than commenting on them. The movie is so raunchy, the camera style just feels like an excuse to portray various people in inappropriate sexual situations while trying to call it "art." There are no characters to root for or sympathize with, and very little plot development beyond people behaving badly. Strangest of all, in the end, all the characters' (mostly) minor transgressions are punished, but the real criminal gets off scot free. It's incredibly cynical, on top of being vulgar. Despite it's original concept, based on the exploitive execution, I cannot recommend it.

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• much better than expected!

  dielancoral2009-05-14

  Didn't think from synopsis I would be into this, but was hooked in the first 10 minutes. Really engaging and fascinating how the format draws you in. Good, solid entertainment. Very well executed. The lack of traditional camera-work and the ugliness that inherently comes with this "security cam" type footage was a big issue for me before I even started watching it, but once into it I forgot it entirely. The great thing about it is that not only is it fun and enthralling, but it gets your thinking about the whole concept of voyeurism and how often we're being watched. Check this out for something different but refreshing. Definitely recommend it.

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• A stunning piece of film-making

  inkslug2009-04-17

  No one could do this movie justice in a review- you just have to watch it. However, for those wanting bitesize details of what it's about they can read the next paragraph and skip the rest. ---The story follows a number of characters over two days as they go about their lives, lives which are caught on CCTV. They include a student and a teacher, two killers on the run, a store clerk and his mate, a womanising department store employee and a bullied insurance clerk. There's sex, lies, adultery, violence, abduction and death. By the end of the movie the paths of most of these often unrelated characters have crossed in the 3 main locations- a mall, a school, and a convenience store.--- After reading the other reviews I was still very much in the dark about this movie. At the time of writing this review some 45 people had given it zero while 36 gave it ten. The zero count was high enough not to be ignored whilst the ten count was low enough to be fake ratings by people involved with the movie, so I was a bit iffy about it. However it was the passion of the other reviewers that convinced me to give it a go. After watching Look I can only assume that those giving it zero must be the type of moviegoers who lap up the shallow dross that Hollywood more often than not peddles out to the sleeping herds. So if you are one of those brain-dead masses then you probably won't think much of this movie. BUT if you are more discerning, enjoy thought provoking material and sometimes despair at the apparent crumbling of western societal values you should find this to be as stunning, riveting and sickly voyeuristic as I did. For me this film is a modern classic. It's a winding, weaving, surprising, intersecting story of vice, and of people sadly lacking in moral fibre. It lays bare the darkness that is within all of us. Because we view the film entirely through CCTV, it's unbiased, free of moral judgements and shows only pure truth. Overall? A Stunning tour de force spewing forth the moral decay that is eating away at western civilisation.

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• A tasteful blend of comedy and nail biting drama

  Cremer79@aol.com2007-12-08

  I recently moved to Los Angeles and had the unique opportunity of attending an advanced screening for "Look.". After the film, I had the pleasure of speaking with writer/director Adam Rifkin. He was humble and kind to me, even though I was simply an admirer of his film. We spoke for a good thirty minutes, and I felt it was appropriate and necessary to share my sincere thoughts on the film. If it has ever bothered you that our daily existence on modern Earth is documented by security cameras at nearly second, then "Look" will offer a alarming glance into the lives of people going about their days without the slightest idea that they are being caught on tape. Shot entirely from the perspective of security cameras, "Look" offers a disturbing and at times hysterical view into the lives of ordinary individuals that are hurled into the path of extraordinary circumstances. It is difficult without hyperbole to give compliment to the innovative film-making that is "Look" by writer/director Adam Rifkin. From the shocking opening sequence, to the eloquent concluding montage, the security camera footage is seamlessly blended together into an engaging film. The dialogue is so natural and candid that you often forget you are watching actors execute the fictional story. The sharp screenplay was complimented by flawless and daring performances from the cast in the film. Every actor was successful at being true to the circumstances they were thrust into, and delivered their lines in a manner which seemed to disregard the presence of cameras in the production. "Look" is a breath of fresh air in the sense that you can go to the theatre and witness something entirely original, and be engaged from start to finish. One gets the sense that there is not an extraneous second in all of the footage; hence boredom is not likely while watching the film. Perhaps the most impressive attribute of the film is the tasteful blend of comedy and nail biting drama. It is refreshing to go to the movies and be able to laugh and cry (within the same film) and leave with the sensation that you have learned something. After watching the film, one is left with the sensation that the abundant presence of security cameras today is downright disturbing. Aside from that aspect of the picture, the stories of the characters are enough to hold the audience's attention (if not hit close to home) from start to finish. The story centers on a confused husband, a gas station attendant, a high school teacher being relentlessly seduced by one of his students, a hedonistic department store manager, and an office worker who is being tormented by his coworkers. The fates of the characters are interconnected in a mystifying way, and only the audience has knowledge of this mysterious link. It is difficult to give description of the plot because it gives so much away that needs to be experienced and not simply described. I hope that my enthusiasm is enough to convince the reader that the plot and character dynamics are about as close to authentic and original as one can hope for in a movie. I simply don't want to give anything away. "Look" is one of those rare films where you will leave the theatre having been simultaneously entertained, shocked, appalled, and enlightened. What more could one hope for out of a movie-going experience? There were times during the film that evoked a feeling of an eerie and hollow terror; an awesome compliment to the director who managed to take that type of desolation and marry it so effortlessly with comedy. There is no school that can teach a director to do that. It comes from experience. It comes from brushing up close and personal with the harsh realities of a universe that can make you laugh wild in one moment and the next moment take from you everything that you hold dear. That is the law of the land, and the director unquestionably knows this universal decree. Additionally, the interconnectedness of man is illuminated through the relationships of the characters. They are all related, and none of them know just how. It is this dynamic of the film that sends those shivers up your spine, and is the reason that many of us movie lovers still go to the theatre. Hence, the film exists on many levels as a very sophisticated and existential look into the nature of our day to day lives, and what happens when ordinary people must face intense conflict. At the same time, you can lower your high brow, and expect to laugh and have a good time. I could not be more thrilled about this film. What a treat to see that someone is actually straying from the Hollywood norm and doing something entirely innovative and engaging. It is proof that there is still magic in the movies, and I take my hat off to writer/director Adam Rifkin. Do yourself a favor and see this movie.

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