Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession

Selected by Todd Haynes

“Amid the decaying elegance of cold-war Vienna, psychoanalyst Dr. Alex Linden (Art Garfunkel) becomes mired in an erotically charged affair with the elusive Milena Flaherty (Theresa Russell). When their all-consuming passion takes a life-threatening turn, Inspector Netusil (Harvey Keitel) is assigned to piece together the sordid details. Acclaimed for its innovative editing, raw performances, and stirring musical score — featuring Tom Waits, the Who, and Billie Holiday — Nicolas Roeg’s Bad Timing is a masterful, deeply disturbing foray into the dark world of sexual obsession.”
— Criterion.com

“Deeply pervy — and that’s just the decision to cast Art Garfunkel in the lead as a math professor in Vienna! As bonkers as it is beautiful.”
— Geoff Dyer’s Top Ten Criterion Picks

“Love, according to this film, is close to death. Theresa Russell is raw and beautiful, and the film is full of symbols, of heartaches, of obsessions.”
— Mark Cousins’ Top Ten Criterion Picks

Film Details

Country: UK
Language: English
Year: 1980
Running time: 123 min
Format: 35mm
Director: Nicolas Roeg
Screenwriter: Yale Udoff
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Cinematographer: Anthony B. Richmond
Editor: Tony Lawson
Source: British Film Institute

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

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