Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky, Side Effects, Ocean's Eleven)
Starring:
Claire Foy (The Lady In The Van, Rosewater, Season of the Witch)
Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project, The Town That Dreaded Sundown, Hatchet)
Juno Temple (Horns, The Dark Knight Rises, Killer Joe)
Plot:
Fearing from a stalker in her past, Sawyer (Foy) attends a psychiatric support session. When letting her counsellor know that her stalker has driven her to once contemplate taking her own life, she is committed for a short time in an institution against her will. And she begins to see her stalker everywhere she looks; even mistaking staff in the institution. But is she really the crazy one?
Opinion:
A few years back, Steven Soderbergh directed a film called Side Effects. It starred Rooney Mara, Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones and it was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting films released that year.
Whilst the second half of Side Effects goes in a... 'different' direction, the first half was dedicated to depicting a young woman's struggle with depression after her husband's arrest, her dependency on her prescribed medication and the supposed 'side effects' that wreak havoc with her life. The film seemed like Soderbergh was trying to make a statement about the America people's current dependency on medication to get them through their day-to-day lives, as well as cast a harsh spotlight on pharmaceutical companies preying on those in need of help.
One Liberace biography and an "Ocean's 7/11" later, and Soderbergh is back using that harsh spotlight to highlight a dark truth within the American psychiatric system: that many Americans are told they are in need of further help, and even commitment, just to keep a hospital's beds filled, quotas met and funding secure.
But don't worry, Soderbergh isn't going to do this thing like a boring documentary, but instead hide it within a tense, character-driven B-movie style thriller. Fun!
From the beginning, Unsane doesn't hide it's attempts at trying to unnerve you, since the film is entirely shot on an iPhone. Possibly this is Soderbergh trying to visually stand out amongst the current releases and trying to push the boundaries of how easily he can make a tense thriller, but to his credit, I believe the style added to the overall aesthetic and creep-factor in an 'edge-of-your-seat' way.
Since Unsane is focused on a stalker's obsession with his victim, the entire film feels like the audience is watching through the stalker's P.O.V and I felt truly uncomfortable throughout. And that's not to mention the dark twists that the storyline throws at you, as well as the cat and mouse game that slowly unravels itself before your eyes.
I want to tell you more, but it is truly a film where the less you know about it, the better. All I knew about Unsane was "It's Steven Soderbergh, and it's all shot on an iPhone." and I was definitely pleased by the unexpected routes that Soderbergh takes.
Not only is Unsane a tense watch from start to end, but the performances are fantastic as well. Former Saturday Night Live star Jay Pharaoh gives the film and the main star a shoulder to cry on when the plot gets a bit too rough and needs a breather, Juno Temple is under-utilised but when she's on camera, she makes sure your attention is on her, and Josh Leonard just steals the show as Sawyer's stalker, David.
However the film belongs to Claire Foy. Her portrayal of Sawyer is a complicated and tough one, but one she carries off effectively, as some of her decisions and actions could easily lead you to dislike her. But some scenes towards the end of the film where she stands up to her oppressors is definitely a scene where she grabs the audience's attention and won't let go. Also the film allows Sawyer to be an imperfect protagonist, something definitely refreshing to see in amongst the squeaky-clean 'final-girl' heroines from other thrillers like this.
Rating:
7/10
Until next time, thanks for reading!
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