Unsane

'Unsane' seemed to me like it had real potential to be a good film. It looked intriguing, it was interesting to see how it would fare being shot on an IPhone (though part of me was a little apprehensive, being concerned it would be handled amateurishly), the trailer looked great, like Claire Foy a lot and the idea was for me one of the best and most unique of the year.

On the most part, while the polarising critical reception is more than understandable, 'Unsane' works. It is an uneven film and should have been better than it was with the final third and ending being a let down. On the other hand, much of it was very well done with a terrific first half that showed so much promise. Am going to hold nothing about those who didn't like it, being one who agrees with a few of their criticisms.

Starting with what 'Unsane' does right, it surprisingly looks good. Was worried as to whether the IPhone technique would be done in an amateurish fashion but actually it was atmospheric and surprisingly tasteful, enhancing the already unsettling claustrophobia seen also in the setting. The music is haunting and wisely not constant as well as never intrusive. Soderburgh's direction is deliberate yet tight, letting the atmosphere speak for itself.

The first half is terrific, slow-burning but creepy, subtly suspenseful and sometimes quirky, blurring reality and delusions with plenty of unsettlement, panic, claustrophobia and thoughtful representation of a difficult subject. The cast are on top form, the best thing about 'Unsane' being Claire Foy, mixing fragility, unhinging, sarcasm, insincerity and also sincerity it is a spectacularly good performance of an complicated character that one is scared of but also in a way sympathetic to. It is easy to overlook the rest of the cast, but they are also very good playing against type, Joshua Leonard, Juno Temple and Jay Pharoah do great jobs.

However, it is a shame that the film changes tone in the final third in particular and it is really jarring and the quality is significantly inferior. The film works better as a psychological drama/horror, while it turns thriller, it becomes overblown, rushed and far fetched. The ending is a let down, too easily foreseeable, anti-climactic and far too conventional for a premise as unique as this one.

Some of the dialogue is on the ropy side and Matt Damon's cameo was out of place, unnecessary and just plain weird, reeking of self-indulgence.

Overall, worth seeing. Uneven but with a lot of great merits. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Up until I saw it in theaters, I knew Unsane exclusively as the movie that was shot on an iPhone. I knew it was directed by Steven Soderbergh, who's given us such films as Ocean's Eleven and Logan Lucky. However, I knew nothing about the plot or really what kind of genre of film this was. All I knew was that it had been filmed on an iPhone. While that's certainly interesting, and I was definitely curious to see how it would look on the big screen, I couldn't help but think of it exclusively as a gimmick. I sounded like Unsane was saying, "Hey guys, we're the movie that was filmed on an iPhone! Be sure to check us out because that's cool!". That's not a good thing for a movie to do, so that did make me a little hesitant going into the film. However, surprisingly enough, the fact that this movie was filmed on an iPhone actually enhances it, to the point where the same effect could not have been captured on a regular camera. While it does lack a bit in story, and there are some wooden performances and some cheesy dialogue, the camera work done by Soderbergh himself is incredible, especially all the innovative ways he uses the iPhone to shoot a completely unique-looking movie...

I am actually a practicing clinical psychologist, and let's face it. The premise of this film is ridiculous. If you're to have a good time at this one, you'll have to set aside any idea of real mental health hospitals (even private ones) and just go with the story. About twenty minutes in, I stopped saying, "But that's wrong!" and "That's not right!" and just let the movie be a thriller/fantasia on the paranoid nightmare of involuntary commitment. After that, I thought it was quite an enjoyable movie.

If you require realism, you'll probably hate it, despite good acting, good pacing, and an enjoyably twisty story.

With most of Steven Soderberg's movies, he tells stories in a way that makes viewers unsure of what exactly is going on. Unsane is like that. The title indicates that the main character might be insane but also might not be insane.

Well, it turns out the this movie has an excellent title because that's pretty accurate summation of the movie. A bit longer summation goes like this: the main character might be insane but also might not be insane but some people think she is insane but she makes some erratic choices so she cannot convince everyone that she's not insane but maybe she does that because she actually is insane.

Sawyer Valentini (a strikingly unhinged Claire Foy) seems normal enough at first glance. She works a steady financial analyst job at a bank. She has a loving relationship with her mother. She goes on Tinder dates. But she's troubled by someone from her past, a man who has been stalking her for the past two years. She has difficulty dealing with the stress, so she turns to medication and therapy to cope.

In her conversation with a therapist, she casually mentions that she's had suicidal thoughts in the past. The therapist exploits this casual mention and tricks Sawyer into signing a waiver voluntarily committing herself to 24 hours of observation at the clinic.

Once inside, things become increasingly frustrating for Sawyer and even more so for viewers. She lashes out violently multiple times and ignores the advice of one helpful patient recovering from an opioid addiction, Nate, (Jay Pharoah showing off impressive dramatic acting chops), which subsequently gives the staff reason to extend her stay an additional week. Her inability to control her temper makes viewers wonder if she really does belong there.

That's as much as I can reveal without introducing spoilers. I can say that movie is a bit of a slow burn early on. Then the action picks up in a big way.

The story veers in a different direction, which causes some problems because we miss backstory that would have tied the story together in a neater, more affecting way. As it stands, the movie has a lot going on, but no part feels fully developed. Foy's lead performance and Soderberg's filmmaking keeps the film watchable throughout, but ultimately, it all feels a little unsatisfying.

Steven Soderbergh's 2018 psychological-horror film Unsane (2018), shot entirely with the iPhone in just 10 days, is an interesting take on the genre. Centering around a woman who is involuntarily committed to a mental hospital, we constantly are in a state of questioning whether or not she is really as crazy as we are led to believe. The choice to film it on merely iPhone lends an incredibly unique look and feel to the story, often seeing people from POV shots and bizarre angles. Coupled with the ambient music, the film is incredibly atmospheric and invites you to see things from the perspective of Claire Foy's character. Unsettling, well-acted and uniquely directed but so-so in the execution of the story. Nonetheless, a cool experiment from Soderbergh.