Movie Review Dark Glasses (2022)
Dark glasses, 2022.
Co-written and directed by Dario Argento.
With Ilenia Pastorelli, Asia Argento, Andrea Gerpelli and Mario Pirello.
SYNTAX :
Diana, a young blind woman, finds a Chinese boy named Chin as her guide. Together they will hunt down a dangerous killer in the darkness of Italy.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that Giallo maestro Dario Argento's film career had come to an unceremonious end with the release of the critically acclaimed Dracula 3D in 2012. However, a decade later, he is finally back with a new project. a return to Giallo's comfortable familiarity with a project he began working on two decades ago.
While Sunglasses is in many ways a remix of the director's best and most innovative previous work, it's good to see the director in style, confirming that he still has the ambition to create an atmospheric and fun, if confusing, film for his franchise. . lack of imagination.
The plot, familiar to anyone familiar with Argento or Giallo, begins in Rome, where three first-class prostitutes hang themselves from cello strings. Next on the list of killers is the prostitute Diana (Illenia Pastorelli), who is seriously injured in a car accident one night while running away from the killer, eventually losing her sight. To make matters worse, an accident leaves a Chinese boy, Chin (Andrea Zhang) orphaned and in a coma, and a guilty Diana soon bonds with him, while a dark killer continues to hunt him down.
For Argento, it's a simple set-up and not new ground, but it's clear from the ominous opening sequence that the energy and charm that's been missing from the director's last few efforts is back. While anyone looking for a gory fest might be a little disappointed by what's on offer here (the blood and nudity are pretty straightforward), Argento says he's still keeping his gory streak pretty strong. very little creativity.
As befits the genre and Argento, Sunglasses vacillates wildly between deadly seriousness and deadly silliness; It wouldn't be fair to call it campy, but the end result is twisted and fun at the same time. After all, it's a movie where our heroes fight water snakes, why not?
Argento is at least smart enough to take seriously the concept of central blindness as a whole, and with the help of a great performance from lead actress Ilenia Pastorelli, he convincingly conveys the isolation and fear of death. sudden blindness while defending a maniacal murderer. In the beginning, Andrea Zhang does well, sharing strong chemistry with Pastorelli and making the strained relationship between the two victims as organic as possible. The director's daughter and regular partner, Asia Argento, also plays an important supporting role as Diana's caretaker and confidante, Rita, although her presence here is somewhat distracting in light of recent personal conflicts.
Technically, it's not one of Argento's most visually inspired works, but it's much more solid than his recent work. Cinematographer Matteo Coco helps the director deliver a rich aesthetic, while composer Arno Rebottini's synths hit the perfect level of retro throwback, though it's a shame the planned inclusion of Daft Punk didn't end there. it never worked until they broke up last year.
Clocking in at 86 minutes, this film shines before feeling close to its host, even if the third act is a bit stilted and the inevitable reveal of the killer becomes too much of a letdown. Sunglasses may be a very familiar and unpretentious take on Dario Argento, but it's still exciting to see the 81-year-old auteur back in the saddle.
Flickering Myth Rating - movie: ★★ / movie: ★★★
Sean Munro. Follow me on Twitter for more cinematic trash!
