In Their Sleep

Directed by: Caroline du Potet, Éric du Potet

Starring: Anne Parillaud, Arthur Dupont, Thierry Fremont

Synopsis:

It’s been a year since Sarah’s teenage son fell to his death, and ripped her world apart. Living alone in what was her family’s home, She is suffering from insomnia and barely hanging together. Late one night, on her way home from work, a young man called Arthur jumps out from the side of the road and is hit by her car. The injured Arthur seems terrified and claims he’s being chased by another man. Sarah feels a maternal instinct to protect Arthur, as he is about the same age as her own son would be – but who is the man intent on harming him?

Review:

I’m a bit bored now with the trend to start a movie with the end of the story, before heading back and working through to what we already know. Some films manage to pull it off – Shuttle comes to mind, starting with a cryptic look through the girls’ digital photos, only to reveal at the end who it is looking through the pics. In Their Sleep, while a decent enough thriller, shows us the fate of our protagonist with its opening shot.

The story is the weak link here. The acting is excellent, especially from Anne Parillaud who will always be fondly remembered as the original La Femme Nikita. Her portrayal of a woman worn out by fate is emotionally draining. The arrival of Arthur somewhat brings her to life, but he also stirs up memories of her own son and his death. The directing is strong and the cinematography is interesting. However the story will ring a few too many bells in it’s familiarity to other movies (a certain Michael Haneke film comes to mind), that you’ll see the twist a mile off.

Of course being a contemporary-set horror movie, In Their Sleep has to get round the issue of cell-phones, the availability of which would bring the whole proceedings to a crashing halt straight away. As Sarah leaves the hospital where she works as a nurse, we see her absent-mindedly leave her cell-phone in her locker, and also mentions that her house doesn’t have a land-line. Oh dear. However there is another character who really should have rung the police, but still...

In Their Sleep pulls off a couple of story-telling coups. The first is an extended flashback showing what happened between Arthur and the stranger earlier that night, which is horrific in its stark matter-of-fact nature. The second is a fantasy dream sequence which plays out like the climax of a typical Hollywood thriller.

While In Their Sleep isn’t at the same end of the spectrum as Martyrs or L’Interieur, it has it’s fair share of gory moments. Two of the death-scenes are particularly disturbing, mainly because of the complete emotional detachment of the killer. He is a pure sociopath.

As mentioned above, the end of the film has already been telegraphed to the audience. There is a slightly interesting coda at the end to show that this is only the latest in a long line of such incidences – again, telegraphed in advance when Arthur shows Sarah a picture of his family. Oh, and Anne Parillaud should be given an award for her final shot.

Verdict:

A slickly made horror movie with some unsettling moments, In Their Sleep nevertheless generates a strong feeling of déjà vu, and the opening shot doesn’t help matters at all.

6 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

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