‘Dark Glasses’ Review: Dario Argento Returns to the Director’s Chair with a Minor Effort
08.10.2022 - 08:03
/ thewrap.com
giallo tropes he pioneered decades ago, although to less memorable effect.Argento first introduces Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli), a sex worker in Rome, as she drives around the city minutes before an eclipse occurs. Noticing that everyone points at the sky with anticipation, she stops to join them in admiring the astral dance between the sun and the moon that for a few moments provides a unique filter on how we perceive the world.
The momentary tinting of our reality serves as cleverly ominous forewarning of what’s to come.The opening, however, remains the most exciting storytelling moment in Argento’s latest, as well as cinematographer Matteo Cocco’s most notable opportunity to showcase his craft. Jumping right into the carnage, as expected, the next scene culminates with a close-up of a victim’s slashed throat gushing copious amounts of blood as onlookers outside a luxury hotel stare in horror.
The only clue to the perpetrator’s identity is a large van, first black and later painted white, seen rushing away from the location of the crime.Later, when the mysterious killer goes after Diana, authorities reveal he is targeting sex workers. One night, the white van gives chases, causing her to crash into another vehicle, carrying a Chinese family.
The young son, Chin (Andrea Zhang), survives, while Diana loses her eyesight permanently. She now must readjust to her new condition with the help of Rita (the director’s daughter Asia Argento), who works with the visually impaired, and a loyal guard dog.Pastorelli’s rendition of the disoriented physicality pertinent to someone reacquainting herself with her surroundings, now that she can’t see them, oscillates between believable behavior and dramatic exaggeration.