Unsane

Starring: Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharaoh, Juno Temple, Sarah Stiles, Amy Irving, Matt Damon (uncredited)
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Rating: R
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
2018

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A woman (Claire Foy) is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she struggles with whether she is sane or not.

Review:

Tim: I was excited to see Steven Soderbergh's Unsane. I didn't know much about the movie before I sat down to watch it, but I'm a big fan of psychological thrillers. A movie about a woman in a mental institution who insists she's completely sane, but those around her insist she's mentally ill- that is a fascinating premise and the mystery of whether she's ill or not is powerful. That being said, the movie underwhelmed me. I thought it was decent, but certainly not much more than that.

I was actually more impressed with the film after I watched it and did a little research about it. It's probably not a great thing that the most interesting aspects of Unsane are how it was filmed and not the movie itself. First off, Soderbergh filmed the movie in secret, which I always think is super cool in this day and age. But, even more shocking is that the entire movie was filmed on an iPhone 7 Plus. I had no idea and this fact blew me away. Now, I was definitely struck by the look and feel of this film- it was certainly unlike anything I'd seen before, but I just chalked it up to Soderbergh being an innovator and trying a new technique. I couldn't believe he was able to film this movie on an iPhone. That is so incredibly cool and it's the biggest reason to see this movie. What fascinates me is what to do with this information. Should I reconsider my rating of this film because of the innovative technique used in filming? I ultimately decided not to (and it wouldn't have changed much anyway).

I was a little surprised that this movie received as many glowing critic reviews as it did. I have to believe the foreknowledge that the movie was filmed on an iPhone colored some of those reviews. If you went into it excited to see what Soderbergh could accomplish on an iPhone, you would probably be even more impressed. The technical piece aside, though- this felt like a movie that wasn't quite good enough. That's where I am going to focus most of my time.

While the idea of "Is she or isn't she insane?" is fascinating, Soderbergh didn't leverage this to the fullest extent. I asked myself this question, but I never felt great tension about it. We get a few clues here and there, but it feels like Soderbergh abandons this question too early in the film. The story itself needed some work. It does create some intense moments, but the story felt too redundant in the middle. There are some pretty big plot holes, including one near the end that had me rolling my eyes quite hard. The story felt subpar to me.

I didn't really care for many of the characters. I've heard a lot about Claire Foy, but this might be the first thing I've seen her in. I thought her performance was fine, but I certainly didn't feel impressed by her work. She is saddled with an unlikable character, so we never feel the full emotional impact of what she experiences throughout the movie. There is a delicate balance here- she can be unlikable as a character, but we still need to connect with her. I don't think Foy quite pulled this off. Juno Temple was fine in an unexpected role. I actually enjoyed Jay Pharoah quite a bit, which surprised me. My first reaction was "That dude from Saturday Night Live?" but he gave a strong performance. It was fun seeing Matt Damon in an uncredited role, but his presence is mostly pointless. Joshua Leonard gave a good performance as David. Much of the film revolves around his character and whether he's a crazy stalker or not. He did well in the role. I do feel like outside of Pharoah's character, there really weren't any others that I liked. That was a misstep for the film.

Now, while I wouldn't call Unsane a good movie, it's a fairly decent effort. The movie badly needed a better script- another rewrite or two might have saved it. However, even with the lackluster script, Soderbergh pulls off something impressive by filming the whole movie on an iPhone. That's pretty cool. Unfortunately, that doesn't really change the experience of watching this movie, which left a lot to be desired.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Girl, Interrupted; Don't Say a Word