Insomnies

This is a great example of a movie that doesn't conform to Hollywood conventions. It is essentially about a man who awakes to realise his wife hasn't come home from work the day before, and what happens to him during the day while he waits for the police. The movie never leaves the man's house, apart from a very short scene in a hospital, and contains no soundtrack. By doing this it creates more tension than if it had a typical Hollywood soundtrack, made up of the usual scary music and screeching sounds. Also as the house begins to fall apart, it becomes more and more claustrophobic. The fact that the storyline is fluid and ambiguous could infuriate or bore some people, however it is chilling without resulting to blood or gore, and never even gives any real answers. Though nowhere near as good, it resembles a David Lynch movie, in that it challenges conventions of plot, and remains ambiguous throughout. Don't watch for any out and out shocks, but it is a movie that will grow on you, and one that you'll still be thinking about later.

Too bad that Jeff Daniels, an excellent actor, can't get better parts. He showed so much promise as Shirley MacLaine's son-in-law in "Terms of Endearment." Come on, Hollywood. You can do better than this for Mr. Daniels.

Daniels is a college professor here who finds that his wife, a music teacher, is missing. He alternately hallucinates due to a lack of sleep. He even dreams that his wife has been found dead. Maybe, this is wishful thinking on his part.

We discover that the Mrs. has been having an affair with a gym teacher in her school and is pregnant. To add to the mayhem, a student, named Sadie Crumb, comes over to find out why the college professor hasn't been showing up to class. When Daniels doesn't show up for 2 days, his response to the college secretary, calling to tell him that the dean wants to see him, is memorable.

What should the police believe when they find Sadie's bloody clothing on the scene? Incidentally, she had a nosebleed while at the professor's house.

Daniels spends most of the time in this movie in the toilet wiping away blood and possible body parts. This is mainly where the script should have placed as well.

Jeff Daniels stars as a University Professor who wakes up early one morning alone in bed. His wife hasn't come home from work the previous day and he is of course very worried. As time passes the tension rises and one begins to suspect that the professor knows more than he tells the police - or maybe he just doesn't remember what has happened. The movie is extremely slow moving which adds to the husbands sense of despair as his world comes crashing down. This is very nicely visualized in the professors house, where big holes are opening up in the ceilings and the walls with water dripping out and creates a feeling of a man slowly drowning. It may not be an easy film to like but it appealed strongly to me and Daniels' performance is nothing short of breathtaking. I gave it an 8.

I was astonished. It has been a really long time since I've seen a movie that good. Everything here works like magic. I mean, the screenplay, the actors, the moods, the dialogues and most of all, the cinematography are all astonishing. This is a REAL movie and I really can't understand why my friend up above (or under) me gave it a poor review. This is the kind of cinema that reconciles me with Americain films. I've always loved Hollywood, but they have gone too far. This one is different. No big budget, no big Hollywood machine, just plain and simple movie making, and it works. Chasing Sleep is a really good movie, don't pass on the opportunity to see it. I don't think everyone will enjoy it, it's not an action movie or a comedy, but please, but open minded. This one is worth the 90 minutes your ass is on the couch!

Chasing Sleep is one of the best movies I've seen lately. Its creepy, disturbing atmosphere is as good as anything David Lynch has ever done. The lighting and camerawork are beyond incredible. Very slow, well-paced, gentle on the eyes, and still disturbing and powerful. The acting is subtle and very convincing. I wish Jeff Daniels would get more roles like this one. He's a great actor. The other actors in this movie are good, too. The script is fascinating and definitely makes you think, without using any tired plot devices and clichés.

One thing that I particularly liked about the movie is that it never gets boring, not even for a second. This is quite rare, especially in a movie that is so slow.

10/10