Look

No one could do this movie justice in a review- you just have to watch it. However, for those wanting bitesize details of what it's about they can read the next paragraph and skip the rest.

---The story follows a number of characters over two days as they go about their lives, lives which are caught on CCTV. They include a student and a teacher, two killers on the run, a store clerk and his mate, a womanising department store employee and a bullied insurance clerk. There's sex, lies, adultery, violence, abduction and death. By the end of the movie the paths of most of these often unrelated characters have crossed in the 3 main locations- a mall, a school, and a convenience store.---

After reading the other reviews I was still very much in the dark about this movie. At the time of writing this review some 45 people had given it zero while 36 gave it ten. The zero count was high enough not to be ignored whilst the ten count was low enough to be fake ratings by people involved with the movie, so I was a bit iffy about it. However it was the passion of the other reviewers that convinced me to give it a go.

After watching Look I can only assume that those giving it zero must be the type of moviegoers who lap up the shallow dross that Hollywood more often than not peddles out to the sleeping herds. So if you are one of those brain-dead masses then you probably won't think much of this movie.

BUT if you are more discerning, enjoy thought provoking material and sometimes despair at the apparent crumbling of western societal values you should find this to be as stunning, riveting and sickly voyeuristic as I did.

For me this film is a modern classic. It's a winding, weaving, surprising, intersecting story of vice, and of people sadly lacking in moral fibre. It lays bare the darkness that is within all of us. Because we view the film entirely through CCTV, it's unbiased, free of moral judgements and shows only pure truth.

Overall? A Stunning tour de force spewing forth the moral decay that is eating away at western civilisation.

Didn't think from synopsis I would be into this, but was hooked in the first 10 minutes. Really engaging and fascinating how the format draws you in. Good, solid entertainment. Very well executed.

The lack of traditional camera-work and the ugliness that inherently comes with this "security cam" type footage was a big issue for me before I even started watching it, but once into it I forgot it entirely. The great thing about it is that not only is it fun and enthralling, but it gets your thinking about the whole concept of voyeurism and how often we're being watched. Check this out for something different but refreshing. Definitely recommend it.

"Look", more like watch, takes the movie experience to a new high in voyeurism. Using the medium of film in a new way, Director Adam Rifkin employs the idea and view of surveillance cameras to construct a very thought provoking masterpiece. As the movie opens before any flesh is exposed we are greeted by "facts" about the world of surveillance. It is explained that on any given day an average American can be captured on camera about 200 times. If that's not interesting enough what follows is even more engaging.

The real heroism in coming up with this idea for a picture is the competency for telling it. "Look" could have easily become some pet project that explored the fascinating world of eyes in the sky and manifested in to some stimulating avant-garde piece. Yet, Mr. Rifkin explores, in a very Altmanesque arrangement, the intertwining of seemingly ordinary lives, if only outwardly, and exposes them intimately. Not only is "Look" visually engaging but the story holds up as well.

"Look" is a breakthrough in cinema for creativity and style, reminiscent of other achievers, "Shortbus" by John Cameron Mitchell, "Waking Life" by Richard Liklater and Darren Aronofsky's "Requiem for a Dream". It doesn't just break barriers in film-making it embraces structure, story, tone and pace to create the ultimate engaging movie experience.

In New York City there is a TV channel that plays nothing but traffic camera footage all day. I enjoy watching this channel and keeping tabs on the humans of New York and their automobiles. However, I have often longed for the elements of sound and story to be added to this channel. Fortunately, Look was made and now after seeing it my longing has been sated.

I have found after exposing humans to this film that shooting an entire movie primarily with surveillance cameras opens up many of the voyeuristic pleasure centers in their brains. This despite the fact that the humans are watching this with the knowledge that this is a work of fiction.

This film leaves you wanting more. I do not know if that is a good thing or if wanting more should leave you feeling dirty. Perhaps it is both and perhaps that is a good thing. I do not know, allow me some time to consult Martha Stewart on this matter and I will get back to you.

See this film humans.

This movie is basically several stories woven together, with the technical constraint of only using footage from any security cameras that would have seen them. It's an interesting approach, but beyond that I found the actual stories lacking.

This wouldn't be so bad if the packaging didn't make it out as a movie that showed why security cameras were bad; ironically, almost all the significant things the cameras capture the characters doing involve breaking the law or other poor things that you want cameras to capture. Regardless, with so many cameras out there, there's no way even a small fraction of them can be watched by people all the time, since there are so many millions of hours produced each day.

At some point I also realized that *none* of the shots in the movie are from actual security cameras, rather they're all done with movie cameras and then digitally altered to look like security camera footage (blurry, camera ID and time text overlay). Sometimes peoples' faces are pixelated out, as if these were real security camera shots, even though this is just fiction. This for me seemed almost deceptive, trying to trick the audience into believing it was from real security cameras. I don't even think cameras are legal in dressing rooms, as in the gratuitous opening shot of the movie.

I found this movie disappointing, but still have to respect the creators for the interesting technical constraint of having all shots from security cameras. That's its only saving grace.