Darkling_Zeist
'Dominique' is a rather Creaky British Gothic melodrama from 1978 with a quality cast that, frankly, outshines the rather lackluster material; all that said, I remain a total geek for atmospheric, haunted house spookshows, and 'Dominique' still proved to be a marginally entertaining affair; even though the plot is wholly derivative, and the twists might be a little more linear than the writer might have initially hoped! The fault is in the hackneyed, uninspired writing, as the direction really is first rate, and the moody lighting is quite exceptional, reminding one of Argento's bar-raising 'Suspiria'. For those more unforgiving Brit Horror fans seeking some admittedly tame, late night horror hokum, you most certainly could do far worse than 'Dominique'.
McCaskey
The character acting is a little stiff, as if it is the first time many of the actors have appeared on screen. Unfortunately one of the better actresses, Jean Simmons (played many bit roles on TV, like in Star Trek TNG and In the Heat of the Night), dies quickly and thereafter her acting can be markedly missed.The lead role is Mr Ballard, as portrayed by Cliff Robertson. Cliff is forced to carry this movie with his body language for most of the time. He doesn't do a poor job, but it is a little overmuch to ask of an actor to plug the oceans of blank screen time during which the characters spend their time NOT talking and also NOT acting. Robertson's most memorable role may have been Ben Parker in the last 3 Spider Man movies (starring Tobey Maguire).The plot is predictable. A husband murders his rich wife for her money. thereafter the wife seems to comeback and haunt the husband driving him insane until he leaps from a high window (fearing the specter of his dead wife approaching him) on the day he is predicted to die no less.The second chauffeur Mr Ballard hires looks a lot like an English Mark Hamill. Uncanny really! The only thing that stands out is the utter disregard for dialogue. Many minutes pass in quietness, no one speaks, and few act. It is a shame the MST3K guys never got hold of this movie. It could have been much better, if not just as predictable, with more dialogue, or shorter scenes of 'nothingness'.I kept expecting G'Mork's red eyes to appear from the shadows and proclaim that he works for the "nothing" that inhabits this film.
Cristi_Ciopron
If you enjoy only those Gothic movies that are exciting and dynamic and expressive, DOMINIQUE might not be for you. DOMINIQUE seems I wouldn't say subdued—but peculiar.'Dominique' is a certainly interesting, if not overly exciting, spooky outing from '78, year when Cliff Robertson was already 55 (--he was a bit younger than Clift and a bit older than Brando and Newman--) but looked much younger I would say. The script isn't pretentious but genuinely intriguing; the score might seem a bit heavy, and the direction, plagued by some mediocrity and '70s triteness, could be better.Good Gothic movie, and admissible role for daddy Robertson who plays an English businessman, mean, cold, brutish. A British tale, with accents of GIALLO, a case of the husband pushing his wife towards suicide, that deserved to be better directed and shot. As script now, it reminds one a bit about Clouzot—if you are going to take my meaning.
Hitchcoc
I think Cliff Robertson certainly was one of our finest actors. He has a half dozen classics to his credit. He does fine here as the heavy, but the direction is so bad and the pacing so tiresome, it never gets off the mark. The story starts off well although it makes me wonder how he could count on his wife hanging herself. Still he mugs well and carries things along. The death knell is twofold. First of all, if we were to take the amount of time characters spend walking from one room to another or one part of the house to another, it would eat up about a third of the movie. Add to that, Robertson's character sitting up in bed in the blue light, looking confused, that might add another chunk. I agree with those that said a half hour shorter would have made it a pretty decent, though insignificant film. The biggest weakness is just a convoluted plot that, when all is said and done, leaves incredible questions. I'm not putting in spoilers, but when it ends, don't think too much. I can come up with ten what-ifs without raising a sweat. It would have been better if it had remained a ghost story.
AD
