MPAA Rating: R/Genre: Psychological Horror/Stars: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Juno Temple, Gibson Frazier, Aimee Mullins, Amy Irving, Polly McKie, Zach Cherry, Sarah Stiles, Matt Damon, Raúl Castillo, Mike Mihm, Robert Kelly, Colin Woodell/Runtime: 98 minutes
I think it can safely be said that if you were to ask people for a list of some of the most extreme endurance tests that a human being could undertake in their lives it would not surprise me at all if, nestled in amongst the extreme sports and physical fitness challenges, you saw this pop up at the very least once: “spend the entire day trying to get through to your health insurance provider”. An entry that might seem odd at first, but when you really stop to think about it can you really blame someone for seeing this seemingly innocuous task as the everyday equivalent to scaling Mount Everest? I mean from the long hold times, the shuttling around to different departments, the people coming on the phone for a minute only to tell you it will be another 10-15 minutes before they can fully get to your problem (which they have said at least 5 times prior incidentally), and, perhaps worst of all, that annoyingly perky hold music that makes you seriously want to find the nearest pillow and scream into it I think it can be said that the health insurance industry should start providing free coffee from Starbucks for a year to those who are able to actually get through and have their issues resolved in the same day. All jokes aside though dear reader, there is no denying that at times there is something about the medical field that makes it ripe for the powers that be in Hollywood to view not as a clean-cut industry full of decent people, but rather one that has more than a fair bit of shadiness to it with people whose intentions are ambiguous at best and diabolically sinister at worst. A belief that is especially true in the slice of cinema I am reviewing for you today in the form of 2018’s Unsane. Indeed here is an entry in the psychological horror genre from iconic film helmer Steven Soderbergh that manages to brilliantly merge together a narrative about a shifty medical facility alongside a genuinely creepy story about a woman being (or not being) pursued by a maniacal stalker that is actually quite the engaging waking nightmare to sit through. To be sure, there are some issues with this slice of cinema that I feel definitely hold it back from a genuinely great slice of cinema all things considered. Even with that in mind though, there is no denying that I definitely do dig the heck out of this movie dear reader. I mean the narrative is definitely riveting, the work done behind the camera is immensely skilled, and the work done in front of the camera by this slice of cinema’s top-flight collection of talent manages to truly soar in their respective roles. Suffice it to say then that Unsane might not make for a film to go full-blown ranting and raving about, but trust me when I say that there’s also more than a fair bit within this slice of cinema’s 98 minute, including credits, runtime to go loony over as well.
The plot is as follows: Unsane gets its nightmarish narrative underway by introducing us to our main heroine in the form of a young woman named Sawyer Valentini. A young woman who, despite her professional life as a data analyst blossom and truly soar, has also seen her personal life go through more than its fair share of tumbles. Chief among these is the fact that for a stretch of time she was the unfortunate focus of a member of that sleazy group known as stalkers. As a result, not only did our heroine have to leave her hometown of Boston, but the incident nearly caused her to lose her mental wellbeing as well. To that end, we see that when our story gets underway proper our heroine is in the midst of trying to reconstruct her life in Pennsylvania even though she is still extremely reserved and trying to heal from her traumatic experience. A process that shows in not just her professional life, but especially in her personal life as her social interactions don’t really go any further than frequent phone conversations with her worried yet loving mother and no expectations attached meet-ups she is able to engage in courtesy of a little app known as Tinder yet even the latter can still apparently bring about crippling anxiety-stricken moments where she thinks her stalker, a guy by the name of David, is near. To that end, we see that with her anxiety soon causing her to get to a potentially crippling impasse in her life, and just out of a desire to at long last reobtain a degree of peace of mind, we see as our heroine makes the choice to take part in therapy sessions at a hospital known as the Highland Creek Behavioral Center only to find herself walking face first into a full-blown nightmare. A nightmare that takes shape when, after an initial and surprisingly good consultation, we see that our heroine has not only been deceived into being voluntarily committed, but she is also swiftly put in an ominous psych ward where, despite her best attempts, she is seemingly unable to convince anyone of her sanity without appearing that she is very much anything but. Yet as bad as this situation most assuredly is, it isn’t long before this genuinely horrifying situation for our heroine manages to get even worse when she finds out that her stalker is working as a seemingly decent nurse by the name of George in her ward within the hospital walls…..or is he? Indeed is her stalker really there or have her delusions finally managed to at long last overwhelm her, but perhaps most nightmarish of all: who really is willing to believe her no matter what the answer is? Suffice it to say that by the time this slice of cinema wraps up its narrative I can assure you that you shall know the answers…..
Now right off, it should be noted that the work done behind the camera on this slice of cinema is nothing short of taut and riveting in the best way possible. This starts with this film’s brilliant script which, in darn near every way possible, is very much aware of the game it is playing with your inherent expectations. Yet even though this film is able to transition fairly seamlessly from a run of the mill thriller about escaping a facility of some type to really pondering if our main heroine might actually be in need of some psychological care after all, this film does a brilliant job at never pushing and nudging you to question if her fear is valid or not. Rather, we as movie goers to say nothing of the movie itself just go with it if for no other reason than doing so is perhaps the most engaging and unnerving path through this particular narrative that we can traverse. Yet even though there are moments where it does look like we are about to get some kind of social commentary to go along with the thrills on display, we see that Soderbergh instead makes the brilliant choice to consistently, much like our poor besieged heroine, uncertain on who or what can be trusted that fits the overall film perfectly and reminded of something that Hitchcock might have done if he had gotten the chance. Yet perhaps the most intriguing thing about the work done behind the camera on this is the fact that the film was shot almost exclusively via the utilization of cameras on iPhones. A filming process that, for many, might suggest a disorganized and impromptu way of doing things, but to me I honestly dug how the movie looks. This is because, at least in my eyes dear reader, the iPhones used in the filming process as well as the common, intricately regulated pair of tones color scheme on display here gives off a vibe more so of someone attempting to promote this device as a engaging and plausible substitute to a regular, and more costly, movie camera. Of course, there are quite a few moments where this film does look both its low-budget to say nothing of not the prettiest in the world yet I would argue that works to the film’s favor rather than as a deterrent. Not just because when we are watching our main heroine from a distance or traverse an empty hallway with her not only does it make the tinkering of the imagery engaging, but it also makes what we are seeing look something we would see in the real world rather than the “reel” world. I say this because although most of us should be aware of what the camera on an iPhone can do to say nothing of how a video shot from one can look, the fact that we are being given something that familiar and having it molded in a way that it now appears to be an equal mix of terrifying, distrustful, and grotesque does prove to be quite taut in its own way. Suffice it to say then that, in terms of the work done behind the camera, a lot of it isn’t meant to merely operate as no more than a creative litmus test of sorts. Rather, I would say that it’s a proposition for the land of movie magic to look at heading down some distinct new paths for making films. A proposition that, flaw with the main narrative running out of surprises a bit too early for its own good aside, I seriously hope they take more than a moment to consider for future efforts.
Of course, you can have all the skill and flair behind the camera in the world, but it ultimately does not help your movie if the work done in front of the camera is unable to match that. Fortunately for this slice of cinema that is most assuredly not a problem by any stretch of the imagination. I say this because the work done in front of the camera by this film’s game cast of performers is nothing short of electric in its own right. This starts with Claire Foy in the lead role of Sawyer and honestly she is amazing here. I mean if all you’ve ever seen this immensely talented actress in is a certain show on Netflix called The Crown then be prepared to be completely floored by the performance she gives here. I say that because whereas in The Crown, Foy is very much reserved when it comes to the amount of emotion that she can showcase at any one time as Queen Elizabeth, here she is permitted to just let her emotions fly. As a result, we see that Foy manages to give us a performance that, leaving you on the edge of your seat aside, proves to be a brilliant mix of raw, potent, and yet also vulnerable in the moments where it needs to be. Alongside Foy though, I must admit that I was also genuinely impressed by the work done in this slice of cinema by former SNL cast member Jay Pharoah as Sawyer’s friend Nate Hoffman. Indeed, much in the same vein as other brilliant comedians/actors like Robin Williams, Steve Carell, and Jason Bateman to name a few examples, Pharoah manages to show that whilst he is still capable of being extremely funny, he is also able to turn that side of himself off should what he is working on call for him to do so. As a result, we see that Pharoah manages to give a performance that is calm and sympathetic yet also compelling all rolled into one. I also have to give props here to the performance given by Amy Irving in the role of our heroine’s mom Angela. No it might not be the biggest role in the movie, but there is a delight in seeing the actress who brilliantly brought Sue Snell to life in the original cinematic adaptation of Carrie from 1976 be in a slice of cinema like this. I think this delight could also extend incidentally to the work done here by Joshua Leonard as this film’s possible (?) antagonist. Indeed, much like with Irving, there is something perversely delightful about seeing Leonard, who first made a name for himself in The Blair Witch Project, appear in a thriller where instead of being a, for all intents and purposes, decent guy stuck in the middle of a terrifying nightmare he’s being viewed as someone who is very much a chilling enigma of his own since he’s presented in a way where he definitely could be the victim of a case of mistaken identity taken to the max, but he also could be the lecherous villain that our heroine says he is. Indeed it’s a very tricky tightrope to traverse, but Leonard does so in a way that is, for the most part, genuinely magnificent. Suffice it to say that when you also factor in a twistedly delightful turn from Juno Kirby as an antagonistical fellow patient that Swayer runs afoul of, a wonderfully cryptic performance from Aimee Mullins, and a delightful cameo role from a Soderbergh regular I think it can safely be said that there might be issues with this slice of cinema, but the genuinely impressive work done by this film’s cast of players definitely helps to make up for that.
All in all and at the end of the day is Unsane a perfect slice of cinema? Oh heck no! Not even close dear reader. At the same time though, does that make this a movie that will drive you up the wall with how bad it is? Truthfully, and thankfully, I can say that is also not the case here. To be sure, it might have been shot on several cellular devices, but honestly I really did dig the heck out of this movie dear reader. Indeed this slice of cinema is one that, dependably great work behind the camera and fairly top-tier work done in front of the camera by a well-chosen cast of players, manages to be quite a few things all rolled into one distinct movie. First of those would be the fact that this film is a more than a tad bit bleak cinematic rollercoaster ride that on more than one occasion most assuredly left me either in shock at what I was seeing unfold on screen before me, on the edge of my seat, or both. Along with that though, it also manages to be a wonderful look at how tremendously talented its cast of players can be when given fairly well-written material such as this to work with to say nothing of an unnerving and fairly ominous odyssey into the psyche of an individual who finds herself having at long last to confront rather than continue to run from, a past trauma that she has inadvertently permitted to dictate not only how she has lived her life, but also how she has chosen to engage with others in her life as well. More than anything else however, I guess there is one other thing that this film manages to be. That being a chilling yet firm lesson in making sure that, when given a form to sign, please whatever you do always make sure to look over that teeny tiny print at the bottom or just out of eye reach. Trust me when I say your eyesight might be a bit blurry for a little bit afterwards, but at least you won’t be put in a creepy situation like this. Make of that what thou will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Unsane “2018” a solid 3.5 out of 5.
