“Together we can overcome anything” reads a decorative burnt-wood plaque in newlyweds Hyun-su and Soo-jin's efficient and modestly decorated apartment. A South Korean version of the “Live, Bloom, Love” portrait that hangs on the wall of the couple's townhouse in Maryland. , perhaps Hyun-su and Soo-jin's family motto is a little more intimidating.What must be overcome?” you might think. But what if being together is an obstacle to defeat? South Korean director Jason Yu's directorial debut, to sleep it falls under the fire brand.
to sleep A very pregnant Soo-jin, played by the late Lee Sun-kyun in the film's cast, wakes up in the night to find the charming Jung Yu-mi, her husband Hyun-soo. parasitehe talks in his sleep as loud noises come from the other room. Worse things happen when Soo-jin starts noticing that Hyun-soo is having trouble sleeping; read: scratching your face until it bleeds and eating raw meat, eggs, fish straight from the fridge. With something going on and a baby on the way, Soo-Jin is willing to try anything from medicine to mysticism to save her husband.
Jung Yu-mi is amazing in the title role as Soo-jin
Hyun-su and Soo-ji's chemistry lifts the film
Although to sleep It draws from South Korea's long history of horror and thriller films – at least it does parasitegiven how often the handle of a carving knife is pounded like a piano, the film is built and driven by the beautiful relationship between Hyun-su and Soo-jin. If to sleep Edited down to the daytime sequence, the film would have been a nice romantic comedy, complete with a meddling mother-in-law and a nosy downstairs neighbor. Like in a ghost movie, there might be a point with both of them wondering what's going on in Soo-jin's apartment.
The passionate relationship between the pair does some heavy lifting for the film and even in the third act (even so conveniently announced by the chapter cards that appear throughout the film). to sleep), when things get almost crazy, on any horror film, their convincing bond papers lose logic. Yu is also wise enough to focus on one half of the couple first, and Jung delivers.
A quick rap on the small of her back, an impersonated smack at her husband, and a thumbs up big enough to threaten to cover the screen are the little decisions that make Soo-jin not only likable, but believable.
Jung, whose popularity in South Korea represents more talent than most American audiences would give her credit for, is completely at home as Soo-jin. A quick rap on the small of her back, an impersonated smack at her husband, and a thumbs up big enough to threaten to cover the screen are the little decisions that make Soo-jin not only likable, but believable. He's not too soft on horror. After eating the contents of the refrigerator, Soo-ji's eyes slowly drift from her husband to the barking dog, a terrifying news.
A Third Act Stumble Is Not Enough To Sleep
Sleep keeps us guessing until the end
The most to sleep takes place in a small two-room apartment and Jason Yu uses every camera trick he can think of to expand the space. The camera zooms in, then pulls back to show the entire room, then quickly looks like an over-the-shoulder hand-held camera shot. It goes up, back, up, down and around. You will feel yourself in a New Order song. It's distracting, and while it's an effect intended for a horror film, it can sometimes feel like we're missing something out of frame.
While his uninhibited filmmaking style is often confusing, it also makes for some great momentsfor example, like a shot going through a mirror and coming back out the other side as if entering another dimension. One of the film's scariest moments comes near the end, when Hyun-su returns home after a car accident. The familiar wide shot of her living room shifts as we slowly realize that every surface is covered in ancient yellow prayer sheets.
The third movement threatens to break the smooth slide
to sleep
from its rails.
The third movement threatens to break the smooth slide to sleep from its rails. Fortunately, Yu pulls back just in time, and what could have brought the film to a bleak end is quickly rectified in anticipation of a few more legal shake-ups. to sleep It might overstate the horror Soo-jin and Hyun-su face, but their reluctance to let go of the other keeps us guessing at every outcome until the final shot.
to sleep now playing in theaters and available to watch digitally. The film is 95 minutes long and is currently unrated.