The story appears simple on the surface, but is revealed, especially after multiple viewings, as more multi-layered and textured than Cassavetes at his best. Ostensibly it concerns a 14-year old Catholic girl, Wynne (Agutter) growing up in this post-modern wasteland, who develops a crush on her much older adoptive brother (Marshall)- a crush which perversely deepens and grows into infatuation once she starts to believe he is the local sex killer. This is in itself an idea that makes you sit up and jolt, but as the narrative develops, it continues not necessarily along a linear path but in several confusing and fascinating directions: the family's history, (detailed effectively in chilling flashback during an improvised seance) is a chequered one, and has suffered at least one major relocation and upheaval in the last ten years. At the crux, however, it's the depiction of socialal changes that make I Start Counting so fascinating and elevate its language far beyond the confines of the standard horror film. The major subtext- that teenage girls were maturing more quickly than before, and developing full sexual and romantic appetites (even if in thought rather than deed) but were not possessed of enough discretion to make the right choices- was a step forward for a genre in which its young females had previously been portrayed as bimbo victims (Cover Girl Killer and The Night Caller spring to mind), but not one that all viewers would necessarily agree with. But most striking of all, and possibly the most enduring image which the viewer will take away with them, is of the masterful symbolism with which director Greene invests every shot. Every inch of the Kinch family's world- their house, their walls, their TV, Agutters underwear, bedroom furniture and toys, Sutcliffe's clothes, Marshalls van, the local Catholic church, their town centre, their record shop) - is painted a bright, scintillating white- a white which, by inference, is slowly becoming smudged and corrupted with the dirt of the outside world. White also symbolises, of course, purity and innocence (two qualities Catholic schoolgirls are supposed to hold dear), and it is into this world of innocence that the ever-present red bus (a symbol of violation and penetration), conducted by the lecherous yet similarly juvenile Simon Ward, makes regular journeys. The allegory is further expanded in one scene where Agutter believes she sees the Christ figure in church weeping blood: by the time we acknowledge it, its gone, but the seed has already been planted. Rarely in a genre production has the use of colour and background been so important or effective in creating a uniformity of mood. I Start Counting is as near-perfect an end to a decade as one could hope for, and exactly the kind of film people should be making now- which is, of course, exactly why they never will. A genre essential. by D.R.
熟悉的墨西哥，牛仔帽，神枪手老了，烟也不抽，一枪不开，拿东西手抖，马在围栏里，路上都是汽车
伊斯特伍德在这部片子里确实老了。不是老而弥坚，也不是英雄迟暮，而是一个固执老头逐渐凋零，走不动路的那种老。
东木大爷精神上依旧是那个老派的牛仔，但身体明显跟不上了。
在平庸的故事里也只有老爷子可以讲出牛仔的浪漫，但是小男孩太拉垮了……
在电影院和零星的几位比男主角小二十多岁的大爷们一起看的这部电影，翻了翻评论，大多是负面的…我特别担心老爷爷爬土坡突然摔了，九十多岁了何苦为难自己，这到底是艺术追求，还是ego强大，我更愿意相信前者…即便有种爱尔兰人里大爷们拍的力不从心的似曾相识，我依然觉得给差评的人们如果自己90岁的年纪依然愿意工作才配给这部片子差评
东木老爷子这情节开挂也太离谱了，小男孩的人设不合理，墨西哥风骚寡妇献身，警察点错相，连鸡都识得救场，改成晚年幸福生活比较贴切搞什么Cry Mecho
我怕这就是他的最后一部作品，他自己似乎就这么想的。
老爷子很起范儿，尽管动作缓慢，但一看就知道很强大，老少配的公路片就有点平庸，挺美好的，没有什么紧张气氛。Macho，是对硬汉片的反思。
牛仔大爷太老了，他刚一出场我都不相信自己的眼睛，全片充满了烈士暮年的感觉，也象征着牛仔精神的没落。
西部慢调，抚慰人心。希望老爷子一直拍到120岁
i don't know how to cure "old".
平平无奇，单纯有的只剩点情怀，西部片还是混碟市吧
剧情和小男孩演技只能两星，老爷子加一星，音乐加一星。老爷子依旧艳福不浅啊哈哈
本来想给2星的，但是毕竟这么大年级了。从开始给羊看病开始就往很奇怪的方向发展了
东木爷爷以90高龄再次自导自演，令人敬佩！影片充满了慈爱，所有戾气都已被岁月埋藏。
东木老爷子真的老了，颤颤巍巍的动作，微弱的声线表现片子本身的弱冲突和人物身上的无力感，不如说是老爷子自己的无力感，这就像人生，你觉得自己什么都懂，老了却发现，自己什么事都没有答案
怎么变成糖水片了，故事编得也太敷衍。难道老了之后就会变成这样吗，返璞归真一片祥和，电影内外的情节发展构成互文了。
6.6实在有点低！很温馨，很治愈的影片，令人回味！
我真的好喜欢东木啊，但这部里他一直以来的那种暴躁迟暮英雄反差温柔太直白了就真的只剩普普通通的公路电影。只喜欢前十分钟，但就只为了骂完老板之后那个塑料躺椅上的日落，我也还觉得值得。
现在看到老东木的电影，心中总是浮现“不要温和地走进那个良夜”…………永远敬佩老爷子，牛仔精神forever,继续拍下去
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