Julia Leigh’s erotic thriller Sleeping Beauty premiered at Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday night, leaving both critics and viewers either disappointed or speechless.
The Australian drama film, which back in 2008 made the year’s Black List of best unproduced screenplays in Hollywood, has been hotly anticipated notably for its sordid and sexual storyline.
Starring Emily Browning, the film follows a young woman who falls into a high-end prostitution job, in which she’s put to sleep – not knowing what her wealthy clients do to her each night.
This is the directorial debut for Leigh, who also wrote the film’s screenplay and is an acclaimed Sydney-based author.
It seems however, the film’s post-premiere reviews fail to depict the engaging narration audiences had expected.
David Rooney at The Hollywood Reporter writes, “this psychosexual twaddle will no doubt have its admirers, but it seems a long shot to attract a significant following or herald the arrival of a director to watch […] Such prime placement can be a disservice. Cannes audiences tend to be more forgiving in sections geared to emerging talent, like Un Certain Regard or Directors Fortnight. Outside the glare of competition, even this pretentious exercise might have earned some appreciation for its rigorously cold aesthetic”.
While Variety‘s Peter Debruge said the film is “more tiresome than anything […] Leigh’s arty (not to be confused with artistic] treatment of the subject matter derives from her own screenplay, though the film’s frustratingly elliptical style and lack of character insight give it a distinctly first-draft feel.”
More or less bluntly put, Sasha Stone of Awards Daily says “The best thing about the film is how disturbing it is. The film’s biggest problem is how boring it is. Yes, even with a pretty naked girl, full-frontal male nudity, prostitution, drugs and casual sex, “Sleeping Beauty” turns out to be very slow and a little dull.”
Not all critics are willing to write off the film so harshly however, with indieWIRE giving it a a generous B+ rating. “The movie will scare off a lot of audiences and distributors, and Leigh (who has several other projects in the works) has firmly put herself on the map as a director to watch”.
Total Film‘s Dan Goodswen agrees, saying the film is “worth a watch, and will pay off for those who stick with it,” and notes Browning “should rightly be in contention for Best Actress”.
Sleeping Beauty is one of 20 films in contention to take out the Golden Palm award, announced on May 21. Previous winners include Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon and Gus Van Sant’s Elephant.
Via: Encore
Title Image- Still from “Sleeping Beauty”
