Anyone who describes Julia Leigh’s almost startlingly assured debut film as erotic either hasn’t seen the film or has some seriously deranged kinks, as sexiness is the last thing that this film invokes (In fact, there are no actual sex scenes in the entire film). It is so precisely visually controlled and keeping its main character such a puzzling enigma, it’s really in a class of its own. Whether or not such a distinction makes it worthwhile or not is another matter entirely, but for those willing to see a near-100% depersonalized and usually intriguing exploration of the female body and male voyeuristic gaze, Sleeping Beauty is a uniquely creepy if somewhat arch experience.
Emily Browning (from Sucker Punch, but let’s not hold that against her) stars as Lucy, a college student who takes on a number of odd jobs to support herself. These include guinea pig, office worker, waitress, and possible prostitute…though whether or not she gets paid for hooking up with anonymous men at bars for sex is left unclear. In fact, much of what is presented about her – aided by Browning’s deliberately vacuous performance and doll-like appearance – is intended as a cipher, each scene another new twist in her personality without actually giving us a clear idea of “who” she really is, sometimes maddeningly so. Read more on Sleeping Beauty (***)…