DVDs in Review

Don’t Look Down (Eliseo Subiela, 2008)

Title: Don’t Look Down (Eliseo Subiela, 2008)

Release date: July 26 2010

Certificate: 18

Format: DVD

RRP: £15.99

Rating: 3/5

Reviewed by Dave Lancaster

'Don't Look Down' examines the connection between sexual longjevity and the limitless possibilities and dreaming, all wrapped up in a selection of erotic fantasies. A young adult named Eloy (Leandro Stivelman) who is mourning the death of his father and living a fantasy life literally crashes through the roof of a beautiful woman below after (tellingly) sleepwalking.

The older woman is Elvira (Antonella Costa who popped up in 'The Motorcycle Diaries') who is somewhat a master in the bedroom department, while he is lacking in confidence. He's lost, she's found. Meeting in the middle, they end up having Tantric sex, working their way through the Kama Sutra and trying to hit Eloy's target of "81 thrusts without ejaculating".

To take his mind off that target, Eloy discovers that he travel out of his body to far-flung locations, but his usage of outer-body distance comes back to haunt him in real life when Elvira announces that she's moving away. This examination of psychological and physical desire is intriguing - it worked better when played straight as a way of coping with emotional detachment in 'Last Tango in Paris'.

At less than an hour and a half, ‘Don’t Look Down’ doesn’t outstay its welcome but it’s still quite a long time to progress a story that doesn’t go anywhere concrete, and explore characters that, while not empty, are certainly too self involved to provide a solid connection to the audience.

The material is handled thoughtfully when it could’ve so easily have been overly explicit, and this restraint works well in director Eliseo Subiela’s favour. On the whole, the film feels voyeuristic, which could be its intention, thanks to its titillating sex scenes but even voyeurs can get bored.