Unsane (2018)

Review

97min

Genre:        Horror, Thriller

Director:     Steven Soderbergh

Cast:          Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah…and more

Writers:      Jonathan Bernstein and James Greer

-Synopsis-

Struggling to deal with the attentions of an incessant stalker, a young woman is forcibly committed to a mental institution where she begins to lose her grip on reality, but as things take a sinister turn no one can be trusted . . . not even herself in this psychological thriller from the director of ‘Traffic’ and ‘Ocean’s Eleven’.

Having delved into the depths of mental health trauma in 2013’s ‘Side Effects’, genre-straddler and cinematic experimenter Steven Soderbergh drastically changes pace and tact from last year’s comedic Southern crime caper ‘Logan Lucky’—taking a leaf out of Sean Baker’s book of DIY indie filmmaking to craft an unsettling and claustrophobic minimalist psychological thriller with horror undertones . . . and exploitation cinema tendencies.

British TV star Claire Foy stars as American ‘Sawyer Valentini’, a smart and headstrong but emotionally damaged young professional, starting over in a new city after struggling to escape the unwanted attentions of her obsessive stalker ‘David Strine’ (Joshua Leonard). But when a visit to a psychologist turns into the nightmare of a forced stay at an asylum—where she struggles with sympathetic fellow patients like ‘Nate’ (Jay Pharoah), and hostile ones like ‘Violet’ (Juno Temple)—Sawyer is forced to face her tormentor, with nowhere to run to . . . or is she?

Always one to experiment and take risks, like casting a female MMA fighter with virtually no acting experience as the lead in 2011’s action/thriller ‘Haywire’, Soderbergh follows in the footsteps of Sean Baker’s groundbreaking 2015 indie ‘Tangerine’ by shooting ‘Unsane’ entirely on an iPhone 7 Plus, and in 4k—giving the film a crisp and ultra-detailed look which feels unnatural for film, and conspires with the weird 1.56:1 aspect ratio (a compromise between old-school academy ratio and modern widescreen) to give the audience a sense that something’s wrong.

These technical aspects combine well with use of extreme close-ups, weird low and high angle shots, plus the often unusual camera movements and minimal cuts made possible by using a handheld iPhone rig, to give film an atmosphere of perpetual unease and claustrophobia, not to mention paranoia—all of which compliment and feed into the main character’s state of mind, and the predicament in which she finds herself.

After the unmitigated success of her leading role on smash-hit TV series ‘The Crown’, Claire Foy continues her burgeoning career as a global star with a raw and intense performance which holds up ‘Unsane’ entirely, and does wonders with what she’s given to work with. She proves a completely convincing American, which bodes well for her upcoming role as Neil Armstrong’s wife in Damien Chazelle’s ‘First Man’—now let’s see how she handles being Swedish as the new lead in the continuation of the English-language adaptation of ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ (or Millennium) series.

‘Unsane’ is quite a bold indie project for Soderbergh, even beyond the guerrilla aspect of the production and the use of universally accessible equipment, a democratising development in the film industry but one which doesn’t guarantee or even signify quality—particularly if you don’t have the filmmaking instincts of messrs Soderbergh, Baker and the like.

The film is undoubtedly timely and has already been dubbed a product of the #MeToo Hollywood era, with the director and his writers James Greer & Jonathan Bernstein using a genre picture with B-movie qualities as a metaphor of sexual harassment and assault. Beyond a straight stalker thriller, ‘Unsane’ may prove a psychological horror to many women, trying to draw an extreme version of familiar picture of paranoia and insecurity, to reflect a society which treats victims with suspicion and disbelief—not to mention the sense of entrapment it all causes.

Perhaps the most interesting and insightful element of the film is its perceptive commentary on America the business; treating its citizens as commodities, in this case through a health system designed to profit from patients, particularly the most vulnerable—colluding with the insurance industry to provide the most lucrative ‘treatment’ . . . but not always what they need.

Yet despite the dark socially conscious core and the jarring atmosphere it creates, ‘Unsane’ is ironically haunted like a stalker by the curious choice of two family-comedy writers to pen the story—because this narrative has almost as many issues as the patients in the mental institution.

Aside from plot holes in a simplistic narrative which needn’t have any, the story becomes progressively sillier, more implausible and genre specific as it moves along, quickly losing the mystery and ambiguity suggested by its tagline of “Is she or isn’t she?”, and moving from a character-based thriller to a rather toothless psychological horror which lacks a genuine spine-chilling tension—and although it might have enough to prove disturbing for some, it will likely disappoint fans of the genre.

We certainly wouldn’t expect a brisk and flowing 90-minute thriller to boast a lot of character development, but ‘Unsane’ makes no attempt to flesh out any of the supporting characters and it gives the actors little to work with. The film just jumps straight into the deep end and only Foy’s protagonist gets a measure of depth, but it’s paltry and ultimately puts the film in exploitation movie territory—which doesn’t really do justice to the subject matter it portrays and limits how socially relevant it truly is.

Yet despite its many narrative shortcomings and a stripped-back approach that’s a little too committed for its own good, Foy’s dedicated and fearless central performance, the daring approach to how it was made and its simplicity make ‘Unsane’ a gripping and atmospheric enough little thriller to hold your attention—but not enough to save it from being one of Soderbergh more unmemorable films in recent memory.

The Bottom Line…

A bold but flawed psychological thriller with a timely social core, ‘Unsane’ has too many narrative and tonal issues to make for a memorable or completely engrossing experience. But thanks to a game central performance, an unsettling atmosphere and some perceptive social commentary, there’s enough here to hold your attention tight for just over an hour and a half . . . but will slip your mind as soon as it’s over.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Single White Female (1992)

When a young New York woman finally secures the roommate she was advertising for, she gets more than she bargained for when their relationship takes a sinister turn into obsession and stalking in this 90s psychological thriller.

Directed by Barbet Schroeder and starring Bridget Fonda, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Steven Weber among others.

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