A young girl and her older brother find a body of a young woman dressed in yellow pyjamas on a Sydney beach. So a retired inspector comes out of retirement to help out the police with their investigation. But he sees that the modern methods of police work aren't getting results and when they make their mind up there's no swaying it. So Inspector Thompson decides to start his own case on the side using his own methods.
'The Girl in the Yellow Pyjamas' is a reasonably modest Italian/Spanish giallo that does construct itself around some striking fixtures and an involving plot. A quick note; during the opening proceedings it's labelled that the actual story is supposedly based on true facts with the names of those involved changed. I'm not what you call an expert of this sub-genre, as I've only come across oh so few, so you can say I'm fairly new to it all. Thinking that man I've got to see more gialli, I notice that this was playing on telly one night and I thought that it isn't one to pass by. Form what I saw; I definitely had an above average time with this giallo piece. It was a bit confusing at first glance, but as you keep on following the story it all comes together rather neatly, without any real hiccups. I'll admit when watching it I was kind of thinking is this actually going to go anywhere or is it just going lose its way. As I thought some sequences were rather pointless to this whole investigation with the mystery playing second fiddle to the central drama position, but the structure of the story, which I've never come across before works out in the bigger picture. Well I have, but definitely not edited in this way. So don't be fooled like I was that most of the sub-plots were not contributing to the case, but they most definitely are and that's proved so, in the last half-an-hour.
The story structure comes into its own by being truly ambitious, which it could make or break the film, but actually I thought it was quite ingenious and refreshing. The plot does more than enough to throw you off course with some surprising knock offs. Like a reviewer had already mentioned there's so much going on in a matter time that it does become crowded with characters coming and going. Too many characters can spoil the brew, but this time it was easily overcome. Throughout the feature we get very moody and drawn out sequences that has of touch of pretentiousness to it, but still it's hard to take your eyes off it.
Director Flavio Mogherini makes the most out of the impeccable location cinematography. The Sydney backdrop is easy on the eyes, but at times I just couldn't stop getting the sneaking impression that they seem to forget they were shooting a film. I say that because excessively it felt like there was more concern in the sights then developing any rhythm and plot. But in the long run I was wrong. Another factor that stabs away at you is the funky soundtrack that makes one real lasting impression. Which at times was a good thing, but also a bad thing. Moments it would be humming with irresistible ooze that breathed such silky elegance, but that wasn't always the case with some high-strung tunes that were tiresomely wretched. The repetitiveness too didn't help either. Mogherini creates some spots of brilliance amongst some odd and arty images that do make headway, like the tasteless scene involving a dead body and glass case and the moment when we discover the dead body. The pacing is stodgy but somehow your just transfixed to what's happening that it doesn't really matter, especially because it does pick up after the hour mark with an cleverly laid out climax that's more than a exceptional ending. The editing was executed to perfection, but the camera work is a bit unstable and lacking flash of style. The performances were that of high quality and Ray Milland as Inspector Thompson was leading the way. Dalila Di Lazzaro as Glenda Blythe was impressive too. What might be a turn off is that it might lack the violence and brutality, but not a sexually charged vibe. Though you might call it very sleazy. Overall, it a professionally done production.
It might have its fair share of flaws, but this unique Giallo has a whole lot more lurking under the surface than what actually meets the eye. It's definitely worth tracking down if you're an enthusiast of the sub-genre.
