Not After Midnight
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Don't Look Now is a collection of short stories by Daphne du Maurier.
Published in 1971, the title story was adapted for a 1973 film of the same name directed by Nicolas Roeg and a stage play by Nell Leyshon. The book actually contains a selection of several short stories, all rather diverse but similar in that they touch on the supernatural or strange events.
The short story Don't Look Now differs from the filmed version in several respects. The Baxters are in Venice trying to recover from the death of their daughter Christine. In the book it is stated that Christine died from meningitis. In the filmed version, the little girl, clad in a red plastic raincoat, drowns at the family home one Sunday afternoon. The director portrays this in a highly stylized manner, and his motives are made clearer as the film progresses.
In the short story, Laura and John joke about a couple of odd-looking identical twins eating in the same Venice restaurant as they. In the film, they are simply sisters. In the book, Laura states that in the toilet she "felt faint" after the ladies had talked to her about the dead Christine. Roeg portrays Christie as actually fainting, once arriving at the table following a trip to the toilet. This is filmed in slow motion, and Laura falls to the floor, causing crockery to smash everywhere. In all other respects, the film is fairly faithful to the book. The "little girl" that John tries to rescue in Venice is also clad in a red plastic raincoat, which goes some way to explain why John is so concerned about her.
Other stories within the book
- Not After Midnight is a tale about a lonely teacher who goes on a painting holiday in Crete and meets a strange American couple. The woman invites him to visit them in their hotel room but "not after midnight," the reason for this becoming clear as the story progresses.
- The Breakthrough is a science fiction-style story set in a deserted lab in the wilds of Norfolk. A man is sent to help with a new computer but soon realizes the strange purpose of the scientific team and decides to leave. However, he gets caught up in the experiment and stays. Mac, the leader of the group, is convinced that he can trap the life force, or soul, at the point of death and utilize its energy. His guinea pig Ken is the affable young assistant who happens to be dying of leukemia. Needless to say, the plan goes horribly awry.
- In The Way of the Cross, a disparate group of pilgrims from the same village embark on a trip to frenetic, dusty Jerusalem. Their regular vicar is taken ill and replaced by The Reverend Babcock, a rough diamond from Leeds. On the first night, young Robin, a precocious nine-year-old, suggests a walk to the Garden of Gethsemane. In the dark, among the bushes and trees, two people overhear things about themselves that force them to re-evaluate their lives. Subsequently the whole group learn a great deal about themselves and their loved ones, and return home better people.
- In A Border Line Case, a young actress pursues old family friend Nick after the death of her father. She discovers he is an IRA executive and accompanies him on a bombing raid in Ireland, but soon learns he is not all he seems to be.
