I Can't Sleep Review
by berardinelli,james (JBERARDINELL AT delphi DOT com)May 10th, 1995
I CAN'T SLEEP
(J'AI PAS SOMNEIL)
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 6.3
Shown at the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema
Running Length: 1:50
MPAA Classification: Not Rated (Sexual situations, violence)
Starring: Katerina Golubeva, Richard Courcet, Vincent Dupont,
Laurent Grevill, Ira Mandella-Paul, Alex Descas Director: Claire Denis
Screenplay: Claire Denis
Cinematography: Agnes Godard
Distributed by New Yorker Films
In French with subtitles
With I CAN'T SLEEP, French director Claire Denis (CHOCOLAT, NO FEAR NO DIE) takes a story from newspaper headlines and creates characters around it. This is a study of three people whose lives crisscross and intersect. There is no beginning and no ending--only the middle portion upon which Denis has chosen to "eavesdrop." The central event, which comprises the climax of I CAN'T SLEEP, changes the lives of all those involved, but it's impossible to say what will come next, after the end credits have rolled.
The basis for this film was the rampage and capture of the real- life "Granny Killer", a serial killer who terrorized Paris during the late 1980s by stalking and murdering elderly women. I CAN'T SLEEP uses this atmosphere of fear and uncertainty as the background against which to tell three stories: those of Daiga, an exceptionally-attractive Lithuanian visitor to France; Theo, a musician struggling to keep custody of his young son; and Camille, a gay erotic dancer and Theo's brother. One of these three is the Granny Killer, but we don't learn which until about halfway through the movie.
Intellectually, I CAN'T SLEEP can be fascinating. It's essentially a postmodern, existential character study and, as such, it offers a lot to people-watchers. But Denis' style has isolated the characters from us, keeping them at arm's length. While viewing this film, the audience member is an indifferent observer. Involvement on an emotional level is almost impossible. This makes sitting through I CAN'T SLEEP something of a frustrating, not to mention sterile, experience. We want to identify with the protagonists or, failing that, at least understand motivations that too-often are left murky.
In some sense, this film has an incomplete feeling. The characters are not the sort to haunt the viewer after the theater lights come on, but the mood may linger. In fact, the wonderfully melancholy atmosphere is often more tangible than the personalities of the people Denis has chosen to focus on. In the final analysis, I CAN'T SLEEP is interesting, but not involving; beautiful, but detached; and unhurried to the point of somnolence.
- James Berardinelli ([email protected])
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
