Bad Timing is a 1980 British film directed by Nicolas Roeg and produced by Jeremy Thomas. It stars Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel and Denholm Elliott. The film was also shown under the title Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession.
Plot [edit][]
In Vienna, Milena (Russell), a young American woman in her twenties, is rushed to the emergency room after apparently overdosing. With her is Alex Linden (Garfunkel), an American psychiatrist who lives in the city as a teacher. Through a myriad of fragmented flashbacks, the narrative depicts the story of their romance, which ultimately amounts to an unhealthy sexual obsession on the part of Alex. Through these developments, Milena is revealed to suffer from depression while still being married to a much older man (Elliott), whom she occasionally crosses the border to see during the course of her affair with Alex. Though Linden initially enjoys her free spirited ways, he grows tired of, and embittered at her lifestyle, which includes impulsive promiscuity and heavy drinking. Through spying on Milena, Alex becomes emotionally strained, and eventually tries to control her — leading to horrifying results, due in large part to very bad timing. Throughout, at the hospital where medics fight to save Milena's life, an investigator (Keitel) comes to realize that there may be more to her case than a simple suicide attempt. He probes, and once the truth lies brutally clear, tries to corner Alex into a confession of the possible crimes involved with Milena's accident.
Featured cast [edit][]
- Art Garfunkel as Alex Linden
- Theresa Russell as Milena Flaherty
- Harvey Keitel as Inspector Netusil
- Denholm Elliott as Stefan Vognic
- Daniel Massey as Foppish Man