Look Both Ways
Likeable but patchy Aussie flick, Look Both Ways is one of those multi-strand ensemble cast narratives that are so popular with the kids of today (that will inevitably be declared as derivative of Robert Altman, but hey, it's kind of hard not to be derivative of someone who has been making films since the medium was invented).
Sometimes veering into undergrad territory, the film has a remarkably fresh amateur feel, and carries with it some truly innovative moments. In fact, without the inspired ‘inside-the-minds-of-the-characters' sequences (A man just diagnosed with cancer sees death everywhere in jarring flashes very reminiscent of Requiem for a Dream , while a girl also sees disaster everywhere she looks, however her thoughts are projected in the wonderful style of her paintings) this film, dare I say it, would have possibly felt just like an overly long soap opera.
I say this because half the film ends up being musical montages. Y'know the ones TV shows love to use at the end to wrap things up, the ones that are usually really cheesy, where we flash between every character staring out to space, pondering their life, and reflecting over what's just happened to them while some poignant song sums up the mood just oh-so-perfectly. It feels like after every ‘talky' scene the script must have just said ‘CUT TO: Everyone looks forlorn…again…to music…again.'
Actually, as much as the musical montages wore me down, my main problem with the film is that one of the central characters looks like a Kyle Sandilands impersonator. Or is Kyle Sandilands. I cannot emphasise enough how much that disturbed me. There's also a guy who looks a lot like William McInnes from Seachange, but that didn't bug me so much, as he was just as affable and non-threatening as William McInnes always is, much like the film itself.