No One Sleeps

A not-uninteresting, if somewhat contrived premise -- a gay grad student comes to San Francisco to continue his late father's research into the alleged US govt. creation of the AIDS virus, happening to arrive just as a serial killer connected with the plot is starting his work. But the story is as muddled as the soundtrack, and the student has to be the most hapless and inept amateur sleuth in movie history: A key suspect is right under his very nose (not to mention other body parts) but it never occurs to him to investigate, or even be a little nervous....The S&M sex stuff has nothing to do with the story, it's just there for sensationalism. And some sort of special Oscar should be invented for performances of the badness of Irit Levy's as the detective.

One has to wonder if at any point in the production of this film a

script existed that made any sense. Was the rough cut 3 hours

long and was it trimmed into the incoherent mess that survives?

Why would anyone finance this mess? I will say that Tom

Wlaschiha is a good looking young man and he does what he can

with the dialogue and dramatic (?) situations he is given. But

characters come and go for no apparent reason, continuity is

non-existent, and the acting, cinematography, and direction are (to

put it politely) amateurish. Not One Sleeps is an unfortunate

choice of title as it will probably prove untrue should anyone

actually attempt to actually watch this film.

I saw this film at the Sarasota film festival in Florida. The synopsis I read sounded intriguing, but the film did not live up to my expectations. The emphisis on the gay sexual lifestyle of the main characters took away from the possibly fantastic storyline; the character's experiences were interwoven with an opera and an ongoing investigation, but the movie almost goes for shock value in a way. I can't say I enjoyed it at all, except for the actual cinematography was pretty great. Overall, a 4/10.

The plot is simply too convoluted to describe with any effectiveness (I figure, hey...if the writer didn't care enough to create a good script, why should I have to care about writing a good synopsis)? It seems as though this film were intentionally trying to fill some kind of affirmative-action quota fantasy; the lead detective characters are of course a tough, elderly Jewish lesbian and a strong black woman. Add in an evil corporation, government conspiracy, anti-Christian bigotry and well, you got yourself a steamy pile of celluloid that no one has ever heard about, let alone watched. Oddly, the lead character, Tom Wlaschiha, is known more for his side-character in "The Game of Thrones"...I would never have possibly imagined him carrying a lead role in any movie (and this is proof why he shouldn't). Just...no.

"No One Sleeps" is perhaps the worst film I have ever seen. Looking past the extremely poor acting, shockingly poor (and often hilarious) screenplay, incredibly cheap and uninteresting cinematography and terribly generic serial killer plot, Mr. Hicks' film is obsessed with the morbid, tawdry parts of gay life - which is fine - but he never makes any kind of comment or statement on them. So what's the point? The use of Turandot throughout is so forced (and so annoying) that it becomes laughable. Really mind boggling how stupid this one was. Honestly, some of the worst acting I've ever seen projected on a screen - one wonders, however, whether to blame the actors or the piss-poor lines they've been given. Tom Wlaschiha, as the lead, does have his moments ... but they are rather few. I'm sure there are those who would defend this film by hiding behind its (obviously) small budget - but watch it and you'll know that's no excuse.