Look (2007 film)

Look
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Adam Rifkin
Produced by	Barry Schuler Brad Wyman
Written by	Adam Rifkin
Starring	Rachel Vacca Sebastian Feldman Rhys Coiro Jennifer Fontaine Heather Hogan
Music by	BT
Cinematography	Scott Billups Ron Forsythe
Edited by	Martin Apelbaum
Distributed by	Captured Films
Release dates	December 14, 2007 (2007-12-14)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Look is a 2007 American found footage film directed by Adam Rifkin. The film is composed entirely of material shot from the perspective of surveillance cameras;^[1] though shot using CineAlta movie cameras, all were placed in locations where actual surveillance cameras were mounted.^[2] The scenes are staged, though, with actors playing a given script.^[2] The film's score was provided by electronic music producer BT.

Synopsis

The film follows several intertwining narratives as the security cameras watch over the characters in several different areas: a gas station, a high school, a mall and an office building. The storylines progress over the course of a week and many of the characters end up interacting with each other in the course of their lives.

Tony, a manager at a housewares store, openly flirts and touches several of his female co-workers. He is seen having sex with one woman, Lydia, in the warehouse space of the store. A day later, Lydia eventually hears from Naomi that Tony has had sex with her as well. When confronted, Tony tries to twist the conversation around, citing Lydia's husband and three kids, and eventually reconciles with her through more sex. Other security camera footage shows Tony having sex with multiple employees. A few days later, Tony attempts to hit on Courtney, who flatly refuses his advances and notifies him of a previous sexual harassment lawsuit that she had to settle with her previous employer. Courtney eventually tells Lydia, who pretends that only idiots sleep with Tony.

Office worker Marty down on his luck: the ATM eats his card, he is awkward with social interaction and he ends up being the target of several pranks at his firm, ranging from spiked soft drinks and drawers filled with sour cream, to the wheels from his car removed. Over the course of the film, Marty becomes increasingly upset by the wide range of pranks pulled on him and eventually explodes his frustration onto the co-worker who pranks him.

Ben and his wife Louise install cameras into their house to look after their baby while they are at work. Their daughter Megan ends up being the target of a pedophile over the course of two days, when she and Louise shop for clothes, housewares and toys. On the first day, Ben is present and ends up running into George, a fellow lawyer who works in the same courthouse and shares the same gym. Unbeknownst to his wife, Ben is involved in a romantic affair with George. The two later go to a restaurant, where George tells Ben that while he is still in love with Ben, he cannot share him and happily leaves him with his wife and family. On the second day, the pedophile makes his move and approaches Megan in the food court while she is waiting for her mother to return with their meals. Louise, unable to gain assistance from the surrounding diners in locating where her child went, contacts security. The pedophile is revealed at this point to be Marty, the office worker.

Two sociopaths are pulled over by a cop on the highway, but end up overpowering the officer, shooting him and driving his vehicle into the ditch. They later rob a woman using an ATM at gunpoint, lock her in the trunk and leave it in a mall parking lot. The pair then make their way to a convenience store, in which clerk Willie and his friend Carl hang out during the late night hours. The first time the pair visit passes without incidence, but the second time, Willie has recognized the pair as the "Candid Camera Killers", as the cop's footage has hence been circulated on television networks. The pair make a swift getaway as the clerks watch on a news camera, before colliding head-on with another vehicle. The police make their arrests on the seriously wounded men.

A high school student named Sherri admits to her friend Holly that she has a secret crush. She eventually reveals that her crush is on Berry Krebbs, one of her teachers. Sherri attempts to flirt with Berry several times but he refuses, citing his wife and the child that they are expecting. However, he finally relents when she corners him at his car late one night on school grounds. The two have sex in the driver's seat before Berry drives off. Sherri calls Holly shortly thereafter to confirm that she and Berry had a sexual encounter. The next day, police arrest Berry on sexual assault and rape charges. Sherri gives a passionate testimony, suggesting that Berry forced her into the vehicle and had unprotected sex with her, but she instantly clams up when the police mention that her school is equipped with surveillance cameras and that they have a copy of the tape. Sherri's parents sit down to watch the tape, horrified of their daughter's actions. While Sherri decides to drop the rape charges, Berry's life falls apart as his wife Joan decides to leave him and move back to Philadelphia; and Berry himself, due to the videotape evidence, is charged for statutory rape and is forced to register as a sex offender. His lawyer advises him to plead no contest at his trial to have his sentence reduced to ten years.

A minor storyline occurs when a darker-skinned man accidentally leaves his knapsack on a bus. The bus is eventually evacuated and the bomb squad is called in, revealing that the knapsack contains nothing more than college textbooks.

In a montage during the epilogue, Joan Krebbs gives birth while Berry is incarcerated; the convenience store clerks are awarded $50,000 at a public ceremony while the killers are found guilty; Kayla's parents return home to their housekeeper without their daughter; Tony is shown in a drive-through with his wife and children; the darker-skinned man is seen graduating from college; and the woman inside the trunk of the car has stopped producing noise after several days. Marty is approached by a police officer at his cubicle. Fearing that he is about to be arrested, he is instead horrified to learn that this is yet another prank: the officer ends up being a male stripper, hired by his co-workers.

Critical reception

As of December 14, 2007, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 60% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 35 reviews — a percentage considered "fresh" by the site.^[3] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 43 out of 100, based on 4 reviews — indicating mixed or average views.^[4]

Television series

Showtime confirmed in January 2010 that a television series based on the movie would be released sometime the same year. On September 1, 2010, a teaser trailer was released and the show premiered on October 10, 2010, and the series aired Sunday nights on Showtime through December 19, 2010.

Postcard controversy

During the first week of April 2009, the United States Postal Service announced that they were unwilling to deliver promotional postcards made for Look. The postcard advertisements depict a man with his boxers around his ankles in the midst of sexual intercourse with a woman in a generic mail room setting, as captured on a hidden camera. The nudity in the image is not blatant but the postal service has characterized the content as obscene. The postcard image is headlined by the caption: "It is LEGAL for your company to get permission to install HIDDEN CAMERAS IN THE WORKPLACE!"^[5]

See also

• List of films featuring surveillance

References

External links

• Look at the Internet Movie Database
• Look at AllMovie
• Look at Rotten Tomatoes
• Look at The New York Times