A lot of independent films are born out of a
singularly unique good idea, but fail in the management of the execution. This
can happen with poor performances from amateur actors, technical inadequacy in
the form of bad cinematography and poor sound, or a screenplay with dialogue
that is heavily in need of a rewrite. Surprisingly, all of these elements are
effectively carried out within the narrative of The Sleepwalker; all of the leads give consistently solid
performances, the film looks and sounds great, and little of the dialogue made
me cringe. The problem doesn’t come from the execution, but instead what feels
like an incomplete concept for the film itself. Whatever point or end result
that filmmaker Mona Fastvold may have been hoping the audience would be left
with somehow gets lost. The Sleepwalker
is excellently executed but ends up feeling like an empty shell. With all of
the effort to crack this nut, it will likely leave audiences feeling frustratingly
unnourished.
Following the
relationship between two sisters with different recollections of their
childhood traumas, The Sleepwalker is
primarily character driven in content. We begin with Kaia (Gitte Witt) and her
live-in boyfriend, Andrew (Christopher Abbott), who is using his experience in
construction to help renovate her childhood estate. Despite the quiet rural
location, even from the beginning there is something a little unsettling about
this set-up. While Andrew and Kaia are clearly comfortable with each other’s
company, there is joy and excitement missing from their interactions with each
other. Even a sexual encounter following a private celebration for Kaia’s
birthday is suddenly and inexplicably unsuccessful.
If this couple
is having trouble connecting, these problems are only magnified by the arrival
of Kaia’s emotionally disturbed sister, Christine (Stephanie Ellis). She appears
in the middle of the night with no explanation, quickly followed by her
concerned fiancé, Ira (Brady Corbet). There is instantly a clash of
personalities between Ira and Andrew, due to a difference in upbringing and
social standing, but the real problems come from Christine’s erratic behavior.
Her emotional instability combined with the propensity to sleepwalk throughout
the family grounds seem to suggest that Christine is struggling with emotional
residue leftover from a difficult childhood. What this means exactly remains a
mystery that can only be solved by reading between the lines, even by the time
credits begin to scroll.
The Sleepwalker revels in mood and
atmosphere with the simplistic family dysfunction narrative, spending much of
the running-time building up a mystery which goes mostly unsolved. The tone of
the film begs for audience attention, reveling in the questions that Fastvold
doesn’t find necessary to answer. The remarkably engaging performances almost
do a disservice to the narrative, because I was left longing for far more
resolution than the first-time director was willing to give. The actors
involved provide much more depth than the content of the screenplay co-written
by Fastvold (along with co-star Brady Corbet) is willing to provide, resulting
in an anticlimactic and unsatisfying finale. The Sleepwalker has the ambiguity and atmosphere expected of a
short film, not to mention a shortage of actual events within the narrative,
yet this content has been stretched out with confident optimism that audiences
will be satisfied with style alone. In the end, the journey is far more
compelling than the destination.
The DVD release
includes a handful of interviews from key cast/crew members, as well as a
trailer for the film.
Entertainment Value:
4.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 3/10
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