Lucy (Emily Browning) is a 22 year-old university student who spends her time outside of school working a number of jobs. She works at a coffee shop, volunteers at a research lab and as a photocopy clerk. She answers an ad for women to make at least $250 an hour. Starting out as a lingerie-clad waitress she gains the favor of her employers and soon is promoted to the job of Sleeping Beauty. The job requires her to be drugged and sleep nude while paying customers do whatever they want with her body short of penetration.
This film has the emotional warmth of a walk in freezer. The depiction of human nature is not only completely miserable. It is unbearably, ridiculously miserable. There seems to be an attempt to replicate the films of Stanley Kubrick, particularly Eyes Wide Shut. That film was a masterpiece. Sleeping Beauty is a near abysmal implementation of faux eroticism and fails to be even remotely erotic.
Here's the thing. Much has been said about Browning's "visceral" performance and bravery for baring all onscreen. If nudity automatically translated to a good performance Elizabeth Berkley would have won an Academy Award for Showgirls. Did she? No. I should say that it's not entirely Browning's fault for an unmoving and uninvolving performance. The script, written by Julia Leigh (who also directed) gives her very little to do but walk around in the same miniskirt day after day and then take off her clothes and sleep. However Miss Browning cannot escape all the blame. I couldn't help but wonder where her natural accent goes from scene to scene and the finale features a scream that is neither engaging nor short enough to avoid laughing at.
The script does not present any background for Lucy and we learn nothing about her. We don't get to find out what she's studying or why. We don't get to discover how she makes the decision to take the job she does. Why can't we know of her dreams or fears? Is it the intention of Leigh to present her as a thoroughly unlikable, rude and unfeeling woman? I'm not sure but that was my reaction to it. I could care less about her friend who is either a drug addict or has a terminal illness or both.
The most annoying technique in the film is a slow fade to black. I counted nine. I'm sure that there were more but I lost count. When you have very little happening onscreen besides one character sitting down somewhere and you don't move the camera I suppose you have to put in some sort of attempt at style. Nice attempt. And before I stop writing this review like I should have stopped watching the film I want to say this. Julia Leigh needs to watch Creature from the Black Lagoon and see that no one wants to listen to bubbles for twenty minutes so the occasional piece of music would be nice. She needs to realize that silence is boring if not used appropriately and sparingly.
Zero Stars
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