Themes: Unlikely Criminals, Self-Destructive Romance, Haunted By the Past
Main Cast: Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel, Denholm Elliott, Daniel Massey
Release Year: 1980
Country: UK
Run Time: 122 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Psychiatrist Alex (Art Garfunkel) becomes sexually obsessed with Milena (Theresa Russell), a woman whom he meets at a party. The pair become involved in an intense and mutually destructive love affair. The drama unfolds in a series of flashbacks, as Alex tells his story to police Inspector Netusil (Harvey Keitel) who is investigating Milena's apparent suicide attempt. Alex's obsession grows, but Milena stays slightly out of reach. Originally rated X, but somewhat toned down to accommodate an R rating, Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession is an interesting exploration of the nature of sexual passion and jealousy. ~ Linda Rasmussen, All Movie Guide
Review
One of director Nicolas Roeg's most erotic projects was this film about an American divorcee (Teresa Russell) who has an affair with a psychoanalyst in Vienna. The director's arresting visual techniques -- as well as impressive background music from The Who, Keith Jarrett, and Billie Holiday -- add to the claustrophobic, sexually charged atmosphere. Roeg plays with the audience's expectations to deliver a devastating denoument. Bad Timing performed poorly at the box office and divided critics, depending on their appreciation of Roeg's unorthodox techniques. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
Dana Gillespie - Amy; Chris Cooper; Sevilia Delofski - Receptionist; Stefan Gryff - Policeman #2; William Hootkins - Col. Taylor; Gertan Klauber - Ambulance Man; George Roubicek - Policeman #1; Lex Van Delden - Young Doctor; Robert Walker, Jr. - Konrad; Eugene Lipinski - Policeman; Ania Marson - Dr. Schneider
Credit
David Brockhurst - Art Director, Tim Van Rellim - Associate Producer, Celestia Fox - Casting, Marit Allen - Costume Designer, Nicolas Roeg - Director, Tony Lawson - Editor, Richard Hartley - Composer (Music Score), Richard Hartley - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gordon Hayman - Camera Operator, Anthony Richmond - Cinematographer, Jeremy Thomas - Producer, Tony Jackson - Sound/Sound Designer, Yale Udoff - Screenwriter
In Vienna, a young American woman in her twenties (Russell) is rushed to the emergency room after apparently overdosing. With her is Alex Linden, an American psychiatrist (Garfunkel) teaching in Vienna. Through a series of fragment flashbacks the film tells the story of their romance, which ends up becoming a sexual obsession. The woman, Milena, suffers from depression and is still married to a much older man (Elliott) whom she crosses the border to see at times. Linden likes her free spirited ways at first, then grows tired of her lifestyle, which includes relationships with other men and heavy drinking. He spies on Milena and eventually tries to control her. At the hospital, an investigator (Keitel) realises that there may be more to the case than a simple suicide attempt. He investigates and tries to get Linden to confess to possible crimes involved with the case.
Critical reaction
The film received mixed reviews. Some found the film brilliant while others found the film tasteless. Its UK distributor, Rank, were appalled by what they saw, one executive calling it "a sick film made by sick people for sick people."[1] In response, they removed the Rank logo from all UK prints of the film. John Coleman in The New Statesman gave it a very bad review ".[2][it has] an overall style which plays merry hell with chronology"
