| Bad Timing | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Nicolas Roeg |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas |
| Written by | Yale Udoff |
| Starring | Art Garfunkel Theresa Russell Harvey Keitel Denholm Elliott Daniel Massey |
| Music by | Richard Hartley |
| Cinematography | Anthony B. Richmond |
| Editing by | Tony Lawson |
| Studio | Recorded Picture Company |
| Distributed by | Rank Organisation (UK) |
| Release date(s) | September 12, 1980 (Toronto Film Festival) |
| Running time | 122 Minutes Uncut Restored Version |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Bad Timing is a 1980 British film directed by Nicolas Roeg, produced by Jeremy Thomas.
Contents |
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.
The film received mixed reviews. Some found the film brilliant while others found it 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: "[it has] an overall style which plays merry hell with chronology".[2]
The film received the Toronto Film Festival's highest honour, the People's Choice Award, in 1980 and the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director.
The title of this movie was used by musician Jim O'Rourke for his album Bad Timing.
The movie was also a partial inspiration for The Glove's 1983 album "Blue Sunshine", a side project of The Cure's Robert Smith and Siouxsie & the Banshees' Steve Severin.
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