TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2023 REVIEW! What writer-director Jason Yu’s Sleep really lacks is an incisive soul. In all different areas, Yu’s function debut carries a surfeit of quirk and dynamism. It is a cleanly shot movie with a crisp, no-nonsense tempo. Its narrative is novel sufficient to be compelling, and the horror setpieces construct in intelligent methods. But whereas the technical constructing blocks are well-executed, its core is a contact lukewarm — Yu creates lofty expectations that he can’t finally meet.
Hyun-su (Lee Sun-kyun), an up-and-coming actor, and Soo-jin (Jung Yu-mi), a enterprise govt and expectant mom, are newlyweds. One evening, Soo-jin awakens to see her husband on the fringe of the mattress, muttering ominously to himself. From there, Hyun-su’s matches of sleepwalking worsen. As they escalate from the weird to the outright sinister, Soo-jin should rapidly decide an answer for the security of herself and her eventual new child.
Sleep is split right into a three-chapter construction that capabilities very like a play. Via this skeleton, the filmmaker is ready to impart his characters and story with social acuity. For instance, Hyun-su, whereas a loving husband, solves all of his issues in ways in which seem logical, as an actor would. Soo-jin, conversely, approaches points in a extremely systematic approach, not not like an govt.
“…Soo-jin awakens to see her husband on the fringe of the mattress, muttering ominously…”
Yu additionally sneaks in slight however no much less considerate commentary on the society these characters inhabit. When the suggestion arrives that Hyun-see’s sleepwalking may be supernatural in nature, the director artfully permits the thought of mythological evil to run parallel to a tradition of unrealistic expectations. This permits for ample thought-provoking eventualities to be hinted at.
Technically, the filmmaker is textbook in his execution. Sleep glides from body to border on the again of fresh cinematography. Every scene is completely concise, by no means too brief or too lengthy. And when the extra horrifying moments arrive, a couple of key angles create moments of large dread. In addition, well-known Korean actors Lee Sun-kyun and Jung Yu-mi give performances that may very well be simply ignored for the way pure and intimate they’re on-screen. They present a real connection between their characters and the viewer.
However, the cruelest facet is one in all expectation. Each of the formal components is so infused with Yu’s wit that a lot is anticipated because the movie shuttles towards its climax. But when it arrives, it’s frustratingly ambiguous. For nearly all of the runtime, the script efficiently calibrates a narrative that exudes perspicuity. However, the finale can not make heads or tails of such perception, leaving the movie at a thematic stalemate.
As such, Sleep is an rectangular mirror of itself. On one hand, it’s a good however seemingly typical style movie that has moments of uncanny intelligence. On the opposite, it’s an uncannily clever work that finally settles for merely being style movie. Either approach, Yu has proven that he has a lot to supply, whatever the disappointing conclusion. If he can harness his incisive nature extra successfully, Yu can be a formidable director not simply in horror however in any cinematic area.
Sleep screened on the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
