LOOK BOTH WAYS dances around death so frequently, using a barrage of images -- mainly watercolor cartoons which depict Meryl, the woman who can't seem to get over her father's passing and has a deadline to meet -- that it pounds the message to the ground: death is, in fact, everywhere, even in the mundane. Death is a part of life, but you wouldn't know that Meryl would have been informed of it by now as she continues to obssess over seeing her stop-motion doppelganger caught in the most ludicrous of situations. Then again, you wouldn't blame her: she is the witness of a train accident. Now, that's all she can think about -- being stomped to the ground by a derailed train is one of them. Being eaten by sharks is another.
And she's not alone: Nick has testicular cancer and is the reporter sent to interview Meryl (who later informs Nick, in a bit of unrelated information, that she is a Cancer as if to remind him he's not quite well, ha-ha). A relationship must ensue between the two of them who are battling their demons, and it all reaches a hilarious climax when they have a sexual tryst and the attack of the rapid-fire visual information hits the screen, depicting their inner thoughts. Whether it's been copied from other films, I can't say, but it made me laugh. Seeing Meryl's watercolor twin at the ends of an AIDs-related illness, as Nick sees microscopic organisms contributing to the overpopulation of the world in the form of an unwanted pregnancy, three babies who wail incessantly, and bring forth zaniness. It's hysterical.
LOOK BOTH WAYS is one of those quiet films that happen but get lost in the shuffle due to the lack of name actors and an overdose of independent film status. It barely got a chance to play in New York City early last year as it was, and maybe its own quirky material is to blame. Anyway, it's a good movie -- nothing spectacular, and a neat debut from director Sarah Watt.
And she's not alone: Nick has testicular cancer and is the reporter sent to interview Meryl (who later informs Nick, in a bit of unrelated information, that she is a Cancer as if to remind him he's not quite well, ha-ha). A relationship must ensue between the two of them who are battling their demons, and it all reaches a hilarious climax when they have a sexual tryst and the attack of the rapid-fire visual information hits the screen, depicting their inner thoughts. Whether it's been copied from other films, I can't say, but it made me laugh. Seeing Meryl's watercolor twin at the ends of an AIDs-related illness, as Nick sees microscopic organisms contributing to the overpopulation of the world in the form of an unwanted pregnancy, three babies who wail incessantly, and bring forth zaniness. It's hysterical.
LOOK BOTH WAYS is one of those quiet films that happen but get lost in the shuffle due to the lack of name actors and an overdose of independent film status. It barely got a chance to play in New York City early last year as it was, and maybe its own quirky material is to blame. Anyway, it's a good movie -- nothing spectacular, and a neat debut from director Sarah Watt.