For those of you that saw my last post, where I provided a link to a list of 2012's top indie films, you would have noticed the top slot was occupied by Sleepless Night, directed by a Frenchman (Frederic Jardin-don't worry, I don't know who he is either), but billed to 3 Francophone countries: France, Belgium, and Luxembourg (I don't know how that works, or what it even means). The movie, of course, is in French.
Sleepless Night takes place in an unnamed municipality (I think Marseille would have been an appropriate location, given the story-line, but don't think that is it), but that hardly matters, as about 95% of the film is set in a large nightclub. Vincent is a corrupt cop who, along with his corrupt partner, begin the film by robbing a sack-full of cocaine from two transporters in the early hours of the morning. One of the transporters gets away, however, and is able to identify his assailants. That same day Vincent gets a call from the drug-king pin who the drugs belonged to, saying he has kidnapped Vincent's son, Thomas, and advises that he had better turn up with the stolen goodies. He has to show up at the drug lord's massive nightclub (Le Tarmac....I'll venture that translates to "The Tarmac"), where his son is being held.
Seems simple enough: return the drugs, get your son back, done. Well, two Internal Affairs cops show up at the club before the swap can take place, resulting in Vincent's losing the drugs (I'm not in the business of giving away too much plot-they nab the coke, but not Vincent, you'll just have to see for yourself how that all went down). So there he is, in a packed night club, with a new deadline to get the drugs back to their rightful owner before day-break or his son will be set on fire (yeep) and with two of his colleagues searching for him in a sea of dancing bodies.
Now, I'll grant that this is a rather unique plot-line, and it certainly sets itself for some high-octane action, but "Sleepless Night" disappoints. Sure, there are one or two pretty exciting fight scenes, including a drawn-out one in the club's kitchen, but the movie gets downright goofy at times, feels contrived, and the characters take some rather peculiar actions (that seem to defy logic), and some of the lines are obviously looking for laughs (where they shouldn't be), and failing at that. The first 20 minutes or so of "Sleepless" are pretty promising, and get you interested, but eventually it just jumps the shark, and you soon find yourself hoping for a conclusion. I'm not familiar with any of the actors in this film, and the acting wasn't dreadful, but it wasn't very good either. The actor playing Vincent is pretty convincing as an anti-hero for about the first half, but, much like the film overall, I ended up tiring of him, and he at times appeared to be a bit of an idiot, while at other times looking like a Jason Bourne-type clever dude.
Obviously this was all disappointing from a film that I had heard so many good things about. I can see where it earns merit: an fairly unique plot, some decent action. Unfortunately though, this isn't enough. I really wonder where it gains all the plaudits. Its IMDB rating is a pedestrian 6.6, but the list of indie films I posted the other day, and other sources, all heap praise on it. I fail to see what they base their ratings upon. Again, I liked what I saw for the first 20 minutes or so, but after that things began to fade. Sometimes the action in a film makes it such you can overlook other faults, but not so in this case. Too little, and too late. "Sleepless Night" is by no means an awful film, it's just pretty mediocre in the end. If you are really bereft of ideas, you might want to give it a shot, but don't overlook something else. There are too many amazing foreign flicks out there. For God's sake, see "A Separation" or "About Elly" if you haven't already!
Verdict: I'm gonna have to say pass. Rating: C
If you liked this movie you might also like: "Sleepless Night" has a Transporter-ish feel to it.....kinda.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KatVU-Phd0M
Screenshots:
Sleepless Night takes place in an unnamed municipality (I think Marseille would have been an appropriate location, given the story-line, but don't think that is it), but that hardly matters, as about 95% of the film is set in a large nightclub. Vincent is a corrupt cop who, along with his corrupt partner, begin the film by robbing a sack-full of cocaine from two transporters in the early hours of the morning. One of the transporters gets away, however, and is able to identify his assailants. That same day Vincent gets a call from the drug-king pin who the drugs belonged to, saying he has kidnapped Vincent's son, Thomas, and advises that he had better turn up with the stolen goodies. He has to show up at the drug lord's massive nightclub (Le Tarmac....I'll venture that translates to "The Tarmac"), where his son is being held.
Seems simple enough: return the drugs, get your son back, done. Well, two Internal Affairs cops show up at the club before the swap can take place, resulting in Vincent's losing the drugs (I'm not in the business of giving away too much plot-they nab the coke, but not Vincent, you'll just have to see for yourself how that all went down). So there he is, in a packed night club, with a new deadline to get the drugs back to their rightful owner before day-break or his son will be set on fire (yeep) and with two of his colleagues searching for him in a sea of dancing bodies.
Now, I'll grant that this is a rather unique plot-line, and it certainly sets itself for some high-octane action, but "Sleepless Night" disappoints. Sure, there are one or two pretty exciting fight scenes, including a drawn-out one in the club's kitchen, but the movie gets downright goofy at times, feels contrived, and the characters take some rather peculiar actions (that seem to defy logic), and some of the lines are obviously looking for laughs (where they shouldn't be), and failing at that. The first 20 minutes or so of "Sleepless" are pretty promising, and get you interested, but eventually it just jumps the shark, and you soon find yourself hoping for a conclusion. I'm not familiar with any of the actors in this film, and the acting wasn't dreadful, but it wasn't very good either. The actor playing Vincent is pretty convincing as an anti-hero for about the first half, but, much like the film overall, I ended up tiring of him, and he at times appeared to be a bit of an idiot, while at other times looking like a Jason Bourne-type clever dude.
Obviously this was all disappointing from a film that I had heard so many good things about. I can see where it earns merit: an fairly unique plot, some decent action. Unfortunately though, this isn't enough. I really wonder where it gains all the plaudits. Its IMDB rating is a pedestrian 6.6, but the list of indie films I posted the other day, and other sources, all heap praise on it. I fail to see what they base their ratings upon. Again, I liked what I saw for the first 20 minutes or so, but after that things began to fade. Sometimes the action in a film makes it such you can overlook other faults, but not so in this case. Too little, and too late. "Sleepless Night" is by no means an awful film, it's just pretty mediocre in the end. If you are really bereft of ideas, you might want to give it a shot, but don't overlook something else. There are too many amazing foreign flicks out there. For God's sake, see "A Separation" or "About Elly" if you haven't already!
Verdict: I'm gonna have to say pass. Rating: C
If you liked this movie you might also like: "Sleepless Night" has a Transporter-ish feel to it.....kinda.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KatVU-Phd0M
Screenshots:
Chaos in the kitchen
Vincent runs from pursuers....and disturbs the diners
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