Unsane
3/4
Starring: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Amy Irving, Juno Temple
Rated R for Disturbing Behavior, Violence, Language, and Sex References
Often times it's the most realistic situations that prove to be the scariest. Sure, we can always count on the Alien, Bughuul, the Demon Nun or a mad slasher to scare the hell out of us on a dark night with a tub of buttery popcorn. But when you've unwittingly resigned yourself to be institutionalized by a shady corporation and all your cries for freedom are chalked up to your "insanity," that's true terror.
Sawyer Valentini (Foy) has just started a new job in a new state. But although she tells her mother (Irving) that it was for a great opportunity, her real reason for suddenly moving is that she wanted to escape a stalker. She's still easily rattled and so seeks the help of a counselor. A (willful) misinterpretation of her mental state leads her to being institutionalized. As a fellow inmate named Nate (Pharoah) tells her, she fell victim to a scam where a shady company falsely admits "patients" to bilk insurance companies out of money. Anger and desperation turn to terror when her stalker, David Strine (Leonard) shows up as an orderly. Unfortunately, her claims of wrongful imprisonment are chalked up to mental instability.
"Unsane" is really two movies in one. The first, and most compelling, is a psychological horror story of an innocent woman trapped against her will by corporate greed and willful ignorance. The second is a rather traditional stalker story. For a while, it looks like director Steven Sodebergh will stick with the first one and adds in the stalker stuff as a "Shutter Island" vibe. I would have preferred it if Sodebergh had kept it that way, or left it out entirely. But I'm reviewing the movie I saw, not the movie I thought it should be. It's Sodebergh's name on the marquee, after all, not mine. His movie satisfied me.
English actress Claire Foy is excellent in the lead role. Sawyer is smart and determined. She's in a hellish situation, but she's a fighter, and won't stop until she is free. Joshua Leonard, best known for playing "himself" in "The Blair Witch Project," is perfectly creepy as the erotomaniac. His obsession with Sawyer is clearly delusional, which makes him all the scarier. Also important is Jay Pharoah, who plays Noah, a recovering drug addict and the only one Sawyer trusts. He's quite good.
Steven Sodebergh has never been what one might call a conventional filmmaker. Sure, he's made some mainstream movies, such as the "Ocean's Trilogy" and "Erin Brockovich." But independent, risk-taking films are his bread and butter. So shooting a horror movie with an iPhone camera was a creative challenge that proved irresistible for him. And he pulls it off. It gives the film a documentary-like feel that anchors what could have been pure exploitation. The score is minimalist and the performances are played as close as possible to reality while still getting the desired dramatic effect. That gives the film a sense of anxiety and dread that movies like other movies of the same ilk lack.
"Unsane" is a horror movie in a broad sense, but those looking for something like "Fatal Attraction," "Fear" or "Shutter Island" won't find it here. It takes elements from those films and strips them of manipulation and melodrama. The result is undeniably intense and well worth seeking out.
Starring: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Amy Irving, Juno Temple
Rated R for Disturbing Behavior, Violence, Language, and Sex References
Often times it's the most realistic situations that prove to be the scariest. Sure, we can always count on the Alien, Bughuul, the Demon Nun or a mad slasher to scare the hell out of us on a dark night with a tub of buttery popcorn. But when you've unwittingly resigned yourself to be institutionalized by a shady corporation and all your cries for freedom are chalked up to your "insanity," that's true terror.
Sawyer Valentini (Foy) has just started a new job in a new state. But although she tells her mother (Irving) that it was for a great opportunity, her real reason for suddenly moving is that she wanted to escape a stalker. She's still easily rattled and so seeks the help of a counselor. A (willful) misinterpretation of her mental state leads her to being institutionalized. As a fellow inmate named Nate (Pharoah) tells her, she fell victim to a scam where a shady company falsely admits "patients" to bilk insurance companies out of money. Anger and desperation turn to terror when her stalker, David Strine (Leonard) shows up as an orderly. Unfortunately, her claims of wrongful imprisonment are chalked up to mental instability.
"Unsane" is really two movies in one. The first, and most compelling, is a psychological horror story of an innocent woman trapped against her will by corporate greed and willful ignorance. The second is a rather traditional stalker story. For a while, it looks like director Steven Sodebergh will stick with the first one and adds in the stalker stuff as a "Shutter Island" vibe. I would have preferred it if Sodebergh had kept it that way, or left it out entirely. But I'm reviewing the movie I saw, not the movie I thought it should be. It's Sodebergh's name on the marquee, after all, not mine. His movie satisfied me.
English actress Claire Foy is excellent in the lead role. Sawyer is smart and determined. She's in a hellish situation, but she's a fighter, and won't stop until she is free. Joshua Leonard, best known for playing "himself" in "The Blair Witch Project," is perfectly creepy as the erotomaniac. His obsession with Sawyer is clearly delusional, which makes him all the scarier. Also important is Jay Pharoah, who plays Noah, a recovering drug addict and the only one Sawyer trusts. He's quite good.
Steven Sodebergh has never been what one might call a conventional filmmaker. Sure, he's made some mainstream movies, such as the "Ocean's Trilogy" and "Erin Brockovich." But independent, risk-taking films are his bread and butter. So shooting a horror movie with an iPhone camera was a creative challenge that proved irresistible for him. And he pulls it off. It gives the film a documentary-like feel that anchors what could have been pure exploitation. The score is minimalist and the performances are played as close as possible to reality while still getting the desired dramatic effect. That gives the film a sense of anxiety and dread that movies like other movies of the same ilk lack.
"Unsane" is a horror movie in a broad sense, but those looking for something like "Fatal Attraction," "Fear" or "Shutter Island" won't find it here. It takes elements from those films and strips them of manipulation and melodrama. The result is undeniably intense and well worth seeking out.
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