DVD Sleeping Beauty

5 Star

Don’t be fooled by the title, this Sleeping Beauty is no fairytale. There are no fairy godmothers or handsome princes coming to the rescue. The film is not of a rehash of the traditional story like Mirror Mirror or Red Riding Hood, but a nihilistic story about modern youth, death, sexuality and sadomasochism.

"Sleeping Beauty is an absolutely gorgeous film."

Lucy is a university student, working in menial part-time jobs to support herself, and spending her evenings picking up men in cocktail bars. The film opens with Lucy participating in a science lab procedure, presumably for the money. The scene is brightly lit, white and silent, except for the sounds of Lucy’s gagging as a tube is inserted down her throat. After a night of drinking, sex and cocaine, she comes home to a hostile flatmate nagging her for rent money. She seems entirely lonely except for her friend/lover Birdmann, a polite alcoholic who offers her sanctuary from her solitude with falsely quaint conversations and nature documentaries.

Lucy tackles her financial issues by responding to an ad in the newspaper for lingerie silver service. She starts working regularly for a high class agency, where she is employed to take sleeping aids and lie naked and unconscious in a bed for rich elderly men to do with her as they please. “Anything but penetration,” the madam instructs her clients…

The film is beautiful to watch; every scene filmed as one continuous shot, gently lit, the camera wide and lingering. Sumptuous colours and textures give the film a tangible sensuality, the minimal soundtrack almost completely silent, at times, creating a tense and lonely atmosphere, so silent that the viewer holds their breath. Comparisons to Kubrick are inevitable, with similar attention to detail and artistic lighting, the symmetry of the frame, not to mention the dark and sexual content. The lingerie silver service scenes are reminiscent of Eyes Wide Shut, but this time told from the female perspective to show the preparation of make-up and interaction of the girls.

Kudos to Emily Browning for baring all with such grace and honesty.

Writer and director Julia Leigh has perfectly captured the zeitgeist of disenfranchised youth, where there is no deeper meaning or purpose to life. Lucy lives as if nothing she does really matters; floating through her day to day existence not caring about her future or what other people think of her. She lies flat on the office floor while the photocopier buzzes away and doesn’t move an inch when her boss walks in. She gazes unblinkingly at everyone.

The acting is brilliant, depicting all the solitude, lust and shame of human nature with tender hopelessness. Emily Browning is perfectly cast as Lucy; her ethereal beauty and intelligence means the viewer can’t take their eyes off her. Her pale swagger and unblinking eyes give her a more developed sexuality than the stereotypical flirty girl-next-door character. She has the demeanour of a cynical and confident young woman who is bored and disenchanted with the world. She seems to take risks and do things just for the sake of doing it; she flips coins to choose who to go home with at night, and as soon as she is paid, she holds her lighter to a hundred dollar bill just to watch it burn. Browning manages to portray this debonair attitude whilst clinging onto a semblance of frailty, allowing sympathy for the character so the audience doesn’t feel alienated.

Rachael Blake as Clara, the manager of the agency, gives a wonderful performance as a high-class madam, well spoken with kind yet steely authority. Even Lucy doesn’t answer back to her. Ewen Leslie as the endearing Birdmann brings a temporary respite from the cold comfort of Lucy’s world, reminding the audience that alcoholics can be mild-tempered and middle class. As the most likeable character in the film, it is a shame that he doesn’t have more screen time.

There is little dialogue in the film, so characterisation and back-story are skeletal, but the emotive intensity of the atmosphere compensates for it and the viewer is instantly drawn in, trying to put pieces of the puzzle together. Long shots and a slow pace heighten the sense of voyeurism, which can feel surreal. The film gets steadily darker in tone as it explores the relationship between sex and domination. Lucy’s body and beauty are constantly exploited, from science experiments to her work with the agency, where her body is of more value than her active mind. Lucy obviously realises this and it both depresses and excites her; she seemingly takes enjoyment from manipulating the men she meets in bars, but then she also finds solace in the asexual company of Birdmann. The audience is drawn into taking part in this exploitation, as we enjoy watching her in various states of nudity, projecting ourselves onto her blank expression. Kudos to Emily Browning for baring all with such grace and honesty.

Sleeping Beauty is an absolutely gorgeous film; unique and bravely unconventional. Julia Leigh’s debut directorial has all the makings of a modern classic, although perhaps a bit too unusual for mainstream audiences. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2011, it is a film to watch again and again. Her next venture will be eagerly anticipated.