X
- 2011
- TV-14
- IFC Films
- 1 h 41 m
- 2011
- TV-14
- IFC Films
- 1 h 41 m
Summary This coolly shocking retelling of the classic myth poses its heroine as a rarified sex-worker, confronting ideas of feminine sexuality with bravado and precision. (Sundance Selects)
Directed By: Julia Leigh
Written By: Julia Leigh
- 2011
- TV-14
- IFC Films
- 1 h 41 m
- 2011
- TV-14
- IFC Films
- 1 h 41 m
Sleeping Beauty
61
4.8
Where to Watch
Summary This coolly shocking retelling of the classic myth poses its heroine as a rarified sex-worker, confronting ideas of feminine sexuality with bravado and precision. (Sundance Selects)
Directed By: Julia Leigh
Written By: Julia Leigh
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
61
60% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
30% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
10% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
61
60% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
30% Mixed
6 Reviews
6 Reviews
10% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
For those eager to tease out what Leigh’s conceptual exercise is about, the key no doubt lies in Lucy’s relation to her own mortality, with each descent into sleep resembling a death of sorts.
This will divide audiences as much as "The Tree Of Life," but it's a brave and beautiful calling card for both filmmaker and star. Drink it up, sit back and think of a very different Australia.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 66 User Ratings
4.8
33% Positive
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
32% Mixed
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
35% Negative
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 66 User Ratings
4.8
33% Positive
22 Ratings
22 Ratings
32% Mixed
21 Ratings
21 Ratings
35% Negative
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
I actually really liked this film. I like it because it stays with you after it has ended (like Eyes Wide Shut, Mulholland ****). Although it has nudity throughout, it's not erotic nudity. It's got an almost "cold, sterile" vibe riding alongside in the passenger seat. There's plenty of questions to ask yourself when watching (**** meaning behind the character "Birdman"... **** "Lack of Kissing"... **** "Will You Marry Me?"... **** ****)
There's definitely multiple hidden narratives or meanings that this film operates on and it's definitely trying to examine the objectification of females, and what constitutes as a sexualized image or the nature of sexual aggression. It's also notably showing the parallel of being asleep through her entire life (seemingly not being fazed by anything) and to finally "wake up" at the finale... hence a play on the title.
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No wonder it was Cannes to praise this film. Although Sleeping Beauty is an Australian production, this type of cold eroticism is usually exclusive to French cinema and it is one of its most prized features. Also, no wonder American festivals neglected it (too much nudity, swear words, full frontal male, drugs, alcohol, but it wasn't Tarantino's, so no).
Trouble is, many people think this kind of movie is pretentious. It depends on your definition. Pretentious films, to me, are those that think they can teach you something, like big morals or history. Sleeping Beauty doesn't even try that, it just lets you open a window on somebody's life. The assumptions and what you derive from what you see is entirely up to you.
So I didn't think it was pretentious, but I did think it lacked a bit of character and sprite. The acting could have been better, except for Emily Browning's which was deliberately plain.
Finally, despite all the nudity, there's not a glimpse of sensuality throughout the whole picture. And after a while one starts to understand how.
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Sleeping Beauty is best experienced as a piece of fragmented poetry rather than a strict ideological tract.
I found it gorgeous, opaque and disturbing in roughly equal portions, but it was a riveting experience all the way through.
Though the tone is quiet and the pacing serenely unhurried, Sleeping Beauty is at times almost screamingly funny, a pointed, deadpan surrealist sex farce that Luis Buñuel might have admired.
While this psychosexual twaddle will no doubt have its admirers, it seems a long shot to attract a significant following or herald the arrival of a director to watch.
Though Julia Leigh's surprisingly dull debut is meant to present the mysteries of a troubled young woman, you're more likely to wonder why its star, Emily Browning, is drawn to such demeaning roles.
Definitely not your everyday film. I understand how some people could be offended or dislike the movie as a whole, however, if you watch the trailer before hand or read the synopsis, you should know what you are getting yourself into. The trailer really shows the sexuality of it. So that being said, it wasnt a bad movie. Some silent moments to show the boredom in her regular life but again, its an artsy film so sit back and enjoy. Passing grade.
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It's not a great movie but it has a lot a things that makes we think about... It's a very complex movie. At the first time I get myself pissed with the end... Although later I enjoy and kind like those questions not answered... it makes us break up our mind... That's nice.
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Despite being a film that abuses of silence, recurrence and plans extremely long (the joint that gives a consistency that borders on the unbearable, and maybe that's the intention of the director), Sleeping Beauty did not cause me sleep, or made me uncomfortable, but arrested my attention in hopes of a turnaround, a start who was Lucy. I have seen the majority of Emily movies, and I shall say this is one of her best performances, judging first by the girl's age which is surprising. Nevertheless, still she has some things to learn: it was possible to notice her movements as she slept, movements, apparently, someone who is awake . Pay attention to the uncomfortable scene of the bald old man licking her face.
The direction of Julia Leigh is good and certainly safe, the almost complete absence of soundtrack only adds raw to the aspect of the film, the photography is excellent, the direction a little piece of art though. But the sticking point of the work of Julia Leigh lives in the script, right? Well, certainly Julia doesnâ
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This is a movie that happens to be too abstract for it's own good. It's a voyeuristic character study where you don't ever really care about the protagonist and the ending doesn't wrap up enough things to make it feel worth it. Any symbolism the film has is lost in it's trust that the audience is willing to care enough to dig to find it. This director shows signs of promise and some scenes echo cinematography from Bergman and other similar film makers but never rises to it. Overall, the film is one that in the end doesn't really justify sitting through the slow and vague exploration of sex when there are so many better films on the subject out there.
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One of the worst films I've seen all year. Julia Leigh's directorial debut looks and feels like a second rate Hanake film. Rarely have I seen a movie devoid of any real point. The word "pretentious" is often thrown around too easily to describe movies these days, but it's a word that is largely deserved for this ugly and exploitative film.
"Art House crap is still crap"
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Production Company
Screen Australia,
Magic Films,
Screen NSW,
Deluxe Australia,
Spectrum Films,
Big Ears Productions,
Fulcrum Media Finance
Release Date Dec 2, 2011
Duration 1 h 41 m
Rating TV-14
Awards
Australian Film Critics Association Awards
• 4 Nominations
Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards
• 3 Nominations
Sarlat International Cinema Festival
• 3 Nominations
