StateLikeSleep Cert: 15 / 100 mins / Dir. Meredith Danluck / Trailer State Like Sleep is a psychological thriller from writer/director Meredith Danluck. American fashion photographer Katherine Grand (Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice) is slowly rebuilding her life after her actor husband Stefan Delvoe (Michael Huisman, The Age Of Adaline) is found dead in their Brussels apartment from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.
Twelve months later with her mother hospitalised after a series of strokes, the property is due to be sold and Katherine returns to empty it. But revisiting her old life rekindles unsolved mysteries, and soon Katherine is drawn into a seedy underground club scene where she meets her husband’s secret friend Emile (Luke Evans, Midway) as well as her own enigmatic hotel-neighbour Edward (Michael Shannon, Midnight Special).
PROBLEM Despite some solid casting, the main problem is that the emotionally-anaesthetised characters and their sprawling story aren’t particularly interesting, yet neither are they presented in a particularly interesting way. And since Katherine knows at the time of his death that Stefan had issues with drugs and women, there’s no revelation awaiting her return. Everything she finds out about Stefan’s life comes more as an explanation rather than a shock.
The film’s 100 languorous minutes feel far more ordinary than a film with this cast ever should. Scenes taking place in the fetish club aren’t as provocative as they’re perhaps intended to be, and the sequences in which Katherine is quietly wide-eyed on a variety of recreational drugs feel worryingly similar to those where she’s not.
VOODOO And so what could easily have been a solid yet unambitious thriller turns out to not even make it to that mark. Originally filmed in 2016, State Like Sleep finally saw its US release back in January 2019, with an international straight-to-domestic follow up almost a year later. It’s not difficult to see why there’s been little enthusiasm to get this out there.
At one point, Katherine propositions Edward into casual sex with the disclaimer “It doesn’t have to mean anything, it can just be tonight”, seemingly unaware that this should really be the tagline for the front of the DVD…
A load of stuff on Netflix that you've never heard of.
The £3 DVD shelf in ASDA.
The distributors have wisely taken that decision out of your hands.
Stream it out of idle curiosity if you must.
Not not likely.
Quite possible.
Definitely not.
Level 2: Katherine Waterston is in this, and she was in that Logan Lucky with Adam 'Kylo' Driver and Daniel 'Gullible First Order Stormtrooper' Craig.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
There's much to love about The Age Of Adaline, not least Blake Lively's almost otherworldly performance and a fascinating narrative that's live a vampiric love-story without the bloodletting*1. But a potentially brilliant film is held back by the needless shoehorning of bullshit-science (because it's apparently too much to have the audience of a fantasy film presented with straight-up magic) and an occasionally awful script. That said, my biggest bugbear is the film's sporadic narration, every bit as intrusive, unnecessary and patronising as the one in The Book Thief, expositing things for the viewer when the rest of the screenplay can't be bothered. Although it's also important to note that while Adaline researches her 'gift', it's all to no avail, so her character never actually knows the nonsensical details that the narrator gives us.
Blake Lively is really the main attraction here. Combined with the wardrobe department's meticulous crafting of a 'woman out of time' look, she's arguably too good for this film. While she delivers on the story's promise, the rest of the cast are never quite able to grasp the opportunity for themselves. Michiel Huisman does the best he can with the dialogue he's given (see below), Harrison Ford is 'good', but isn't really given enough screentime to lend his character the weight it needs, and Anthony Ingruber is almost wasted as Ford's younger incarnation. And it's a real shame, because this movie could have been absolutely outstanding with a little more care.
An extended BluRay version of The Age Of Adaline, about half an hour longer and with no voiceover, would go towards letting the film achieve its potential. It's still worth a watch in its present form, of course, just don't get your hopes up (not that you're likely to after this review).
• Best/worst line in the script: "My dad, on the other hand, has his head in the stars. Literally… he's an astronomer". Oh, so astronomers have their craniums physically inserted into giant balls of burning hydrogen, do they? 'Literally'?
• Question for those of you who've seen the film: So Adaline doesn't age, but she can pick up scars? Wouldn't her Wolverine-like metabolism give her super healing abilities, too? You're right, I'd have turned this into a superhero flick. Suspect that's why I wasn't asked to review any of the drafts…
If you're at a loose end on a Sunday afternoon, maybe.
It's probably a rental, to be fair.
Not quite.
I don't actually believe the film knows what it sets out to do, so no.
Nah.
There isn't.
It stars Captain Solo himself, Harrison Ford.
*1 Ironically, many of the exterior shots in San Francisco had me location-spotting from Interview With The Vampire.
DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.
State Like Sleep is a psychological thriller from writer/director Meredith Danluck. American fashion photographer Katherine Grand (Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice) is slowly rebuilding her life after her actor husband Stefan Delvoe (Michael Huisman, The Age Of Adaline) is found dead in their Brussels apartment from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot.
