Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession

Original title: Bad Timing

1980
R
2h 3m

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

9.9K

YOUR RATING

Art Garfunkel in Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (1980)

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52 Photos

Psychological Thriller Drama Mystery Thriller

A psychiatrist, living in Vienna, enters a torrid relationship with a married woman. When she ends up in the hospital from an overdose, an inspector becomes set on discovering the demise of ... Read allA psychiatrist, living in Vienna, enters a torrid relationship with a married woman. When she ends up in the hospital from an overdose, an inspector becomes set on discovering the demise of their affair.A psychiatrist, living in Vienna, enters a torrid relationship with a married woman. When she ends up in the hospital from an overdose, an inspector becomes set on discovering the demise of their affair.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

9.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins

Trivia
Director Nicolas Roeg and actress Theresa Russell fell in love during the shoot and married. Russell was 22 years old at that time, while Roeg was already 52 years old. They had two children, but divorced later.

Goofs
Near the beginning of the movie, when the Czechoslovakian border guard checks the names on his list, the list contains several Czech swear words instead of personal names and occupations ("Mrdac," "Kurevnik," "Prdelac"...).

Quotes
Alex Linden: You tell the truth about a lie so beautifully.

Alternate versions
The BBFC made one cut to the film in the UK before theatrical release. The cut footage juxtaposes an image of lovemaking with a shot of a child. This was re-edited into separate shots due to concerns about the Child Protection Act, and all versions available worldwide are the re-edited version.

Connections
Featured in Lights, Camera, Action!: A Century of the Cinema: Let's Make Love (1996)

Soundtracks
Berceuse
Sung by Vernon Midgley
Music by Benjamin Goddard (uncredited)

User reviews74

Review

Featured review

7/10

Nicolas Roeg delves into erotic obsession in this film, with surprising results

His movie rates high in production value and acting and has an innovative approach to an old story

The film is basically a character study Alex (Art Garfunkel) is a depressingly dark and shadowy American psychoanalyst living in Vienna Theresa Russell plays Milena, a resonant, carefree American girl They meet by chance at a party and are thrown into a roller-coaster ride of an erotic relationship He wants to smash her free spirit because he can't understand it, but she won't let him The result is a near-fatal break-up

Roeg comes close to the story from the middle (obeying Jean-Luc Godard's authoritative saying, a film "must have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order." We quickly move to the different parts of Alex and Milena's relationship, moving through time as if it were Jell-O. The editing is intricate, but not confusing As we change location back and forth, we begin to see more clearly how these two unlikely lovers ever got together

The motion picture is filled with exceptional images, and Theresa Russell is outstanding