{"id":35555,"date":"2024-10-10T21:17:54","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T20:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/?p=35555"},"modified":"2024-10-10T21:17:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T20:17:54","slug":"director-is-satisfied-dario-argentos-dark-glasses-did-you-want-some-evil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londoncult.co.uk\/en\/director-is-satisfied-dario-argentos-dark-glasses-did-you-want-some-evil\/","title":{"rendered":"Director is Satisfied: Dario Argento\u2019s \u201cDark Glasses\u201d \u2013 Did You Want Some Evil?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Poster Dark Glasses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A<\/span><\/span> predatory maniac stalk<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> the Eternal City<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s elite escorts<\/span><\/span>, prowling <\/span><\/span>around in a van. One fateful<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>evening, in true giallo fashion, he claims a victim. Simultaneously<\/span><\/span> and rather fortunately<\/span><\/span>, Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli)<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>having just declined a client<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s request for fisting<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>gets into her car on <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>nearby<\/span><\/span> street. The ensuing chase through Rome<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s desolate streets culminates in a crash, leaving Diana blind due to a hemorrhage in her brain<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s Brodmann area (among other <\/span><\/span>perverted<\/span><\/span> interests, Argento <\/span><\/span>has <\/span><\/span>always had a penchant for <\/span><\/span>medical<\/span><\/span> term<\/span><\/span>inology<\/span><\/span>). The accident also orphans young Chin, who, after a brief stay in an orphanage, runs away to <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Aunt Diana.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Dark Glasses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Around this juncture, or perhaps slightly earlier, with the introduction of Asia Argento<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>the maestro’s daughter<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>in <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> supporting role of Rita, a volunteer assisting <\/span><\/span>Diana<\/span><\/span> in selecting a guide dog<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> the giallo mutates, for a considerable stretch, persisting almost until the <\/span><\/span>climax, <\/span><\/span>into a melodrama<\/span><\/span>. Under<\/span><\/span> th<\/span><\/span>ese <\/span><\/span>new<\/span><\/span>conditions, <\/span><\/span>it is not so much Diana looking after Chin<\/span><\/span> as <\/span><\/span>the boy assuming a mentor-like role: <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>My sister <\/span><\/span>in Hong Kong <\/span><\/span>did the same <\/span><\/span>thing<\/span><\/span>as you, she always had lots of money and <\/span><\/span>la pistola<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> Consequently, th<\/span><\/span>ere remains<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>little<\/span><\/span>room for the maniac<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>or occult justifications for violence<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>the murders are reduced to a <\/span><\/span>set<\/span><\/span> of happenstances tinged with <\/span><\/span>luck<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>Yet e<\/span><\/span>ven so, the <\/span><\/span>police<\/span><\/span> remain powerless, they<\/span><\/span> can only<\/span><\/span> shake their heads<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>in disbelief,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>document the atrocities, and leave to <\/span><\/span>a<\/span><\/span>wait the next victim.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Dark Glasses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the release of <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Dark Glasses,<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> Argento was <\/span><\/span>critisized<\/span><\/span> of excessive melodrama,<\/span><\/span> a <\/span><\/span>dulling <\/span><\/span>of <\/span><\/span>giallo<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> tools, a dearth of moral depth in conception, and glaring plot holes. <\/span><\/span>C<\/span><\/span>ritic<\/span><\/span>s,<\/span><\/span>worth their salt<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>attributed <\/span><\/span>these flaws<\/span><\/span> to<\/span><\/span> the director<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s advancing <\/span><\/span>years<\/span><\/span>. However<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> the real issue with devaluing artistic decisions based on the author’s age <\/span><\/span>lies not in <\/span><\/span>its frequent irrelevance<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> but in the absence of an equivalent biographical scrutiny of the critics themselves. Sophisticated dramaturgy and meticulous psychological portraits were never<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>the<\/span><\/span> forte<\/span><\/span> of Argento<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>an independent<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span> eccentric auteur who follows the discordant rhythms of logic<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s dark underbelly. If this approach leads him to place Chin, a boy who claims to have relatives in Hong Kong, in a Catholic orphanage<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>so what?<\/span><\/span> \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Dark Glasses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>Neither the sun, nor death, nor logic can be looked at directly<\/span><\/span>\u2019\u2014<\/span><\/span>thus should the quote from <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>some French writer<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> appearing in the film be <\/span><\/span>extended.<\/span><\/span> While<\/span><\/span> \u201c<\/span><\/span>Dark Glasses<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> has <\/span><\/span>its<\/span><\/span>imperfections, it boasts a<\/span><\/span>n<\/span><\/span> utterly brilliant integration of Arnaud Rebotini<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s electronic <\/span><\/span>score<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>ranging<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/span>from spine-chilling synths to 130bpm techno, a metronome for the unfolding drama<\/span><\/span>\u2014<\/span><\/span>into the narrative<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> dynamics. The film also presents a chemistry within the triangle of Diana, Chin, and Rita that, while perhaps caricatured for giallo, proves effective (potentially evolving <\/span><\/span>into a square <\/span><\/span>if <\/span><\/span>we<\/span><\/span>attempt to arrange an additional corner for the guide dog). Furthermore, <\/span><\/span>t<\/span><\/span>here are mythological<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>references, though simple, to the goddess Diana and her canine protectors. Finally, there<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s the climactic escape from the maniac<\/span><\/span>, with <\/span><\/span>the sudden appearance of water beasts at the most inopportune moment<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Still from Dark Glasses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>Dark Glasses<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> is certainly not a Colosseum of fear constructed<\/span><\/span> in<\/span><\/span> Argento<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span> signature works, <\/span><\/span>yet<\/span><\/span> it<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s quite an impressive attraction that doesn’t look <\/span><\/span>at all <\/span><\/span>anachronistic. No matter what year it is<\/span><\/span> outside<\/span><\/span>: for those who might confuse <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>giallo<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> with <\/span><\/span>\u2018<\/span><\/span>gelato<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span> unfamiliar with Argento<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span>s work, <\/span><\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/span>Dark Glasses<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span> offers a <\/span><\/span>worthy<\/span><\/span>alternative to cookie-cutter American post-horror<\/span><\/span>s<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n