Unsane
Starring: Claire Foy, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Joshua Leonard
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rated: R
Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched? Sawyer does. She once had a stalker and now she's afraid he's found her again. She sees him everywhere. She's probably just paranoid. That's why she looks into a therapy session. It's good to talk things out, but when the therapist hands her a stack of papers to sign, Sawyer quickly realizes they weren't just a formality. She just involuntarily checked herself into a psych ward.
Unsane explores everyone's worst nightmare: being trapped in a mental institution. While in the institution, no one believes Sawyer's declarations of sanity, but is she sane? That is the question that looms over the film. On the surface, she seems to be a normal woman who just wants to get back to her life and job, but there are scenes that make us second guess her. Maybe Sawyer is crazy.
Director Steven Soderbergh shotUnsaneon an iPhone 7 plus, which is quite a bold choice. It gives the film a very claustrophobic feeling as Sawyer's surroundings look to be closing in around her in the suffocating environment. There are times that the lighting is pretty bad though. I could barely see people's faces which is an issue. I'm all for trying new filming techniques, but your character's need to be lit so the audience can tell what's happening. Soderbergh's biggest problem withUnsaneis finding its theme. Each act takes a major turn that shifts the tone drastically. Is this a film attempting to explore a woman's sanity? Is it working to uncover the shadiness of mental institutions? Or is it a film highlighting the struggles women encounter daily at the hands of men who prey on them? These are all fascinating topics, but they don't blend particularly well in one movie. I admit, the first two acts worked well enough for me, but the third really loses its footing.
Despite script issues, Claire Foy completely carries this movie. If you've seen her inThe Crown, you know she's a fantastic actress, but she shows a whole new side to her acting ability here. She plays the role as crazy, sane, kind, and angry. Sawyer is a character with many faces and Foy shows them all. She gives a monologue towards the end of the movie that's some of the best acting I've seen this year.
Jay Pharoah is a standout among the cast as Nate, a fellow patient being treated for an opiate addiction. He becomes a friend to Sawyer and informs her things are more than a little suspicious in the institution. He's charming and charismatic, but we're not quite sure if we can trust him. Here Pharoah proves he can break away from his SNL roots and play serious roles just as well as comedic.
Unsane is carried by Claire Foy's impressive lead performance causing its audience to question every move of the titular character. The film itself presents many intriguing ideas, but never pieces them together in a fully cohesive way. Its razor sharp turns make for some thrilling moments, but ultimately takes things too far in an over-the-top final act.
My Rating: 6/10