The short film Beauty Sleep describes itself as a “subversive portrait of contemporary identity loss,” and proceeds to make its point in a strange, artsy, yet effective way that is eerily interesting.
The film has only one character, a girl with no name and no voice of her own. At times, she even has no face of her own: her face is the same as everyone else’s, her actions are the same as everyone else’s. Her life has little to no activity in it. She sleeps, takes drugs, and watches TV. She occasionally receives one-worded commands through her television. And, she seems to have little to no control over what happens to her, or what choices she makes. Every move is automatic.
Beauty Sleep uses the elements of color and sound (or the lack of one or both) to move the story forward, express transitions, and otherwise add to the story. There is little dialogue. As is usual with films like this that are being used to make a statement, it’s a little weird, but overall is successful in passing on its intended message. While its portrayal of the “sheep” quality of our society could be considered a little extreme, it certainly will make you think about how often we do things because we’re “supposed to.”
The film stars Maura Stephens and was written and directed by Andrew J.D. Robinson. It features
Randy Mars, Christine Lachance, Anik Rompre, Jordan Lockhart, and Francko Edge.
Here’s a teaser trailer, check it out:
Beauty Sleep has started its film festival run and so far as been accepted as an official selection into the Toronto Indie Film Festival and Ottawa’s inaugural Cellar Door Film Festival. It’ll be Cellar Door’s festival opener, so check it out if you live in Canada and/or get to go.
And I couldn’t really find a still appropriate for the film anywhere, so please enjoy the picture of SLEEPING Beauty.
The post I’m not the sheep, you are: A review of Beauty Sleep appeared first on The Blood Sprayer.