Death-haunted, quietly reckless, Lucy is a young university student who takes a job as a Sleeping Beauty. In the Sleeping Beauty Chamber old men seek an erotic experience that requires Lucy's absolute submission.
Lucy (Emily Browning) is a young, beautiful, university student who has had a string of boring, poorly paid jobs, which she has had to put up with in order to afford to pay for her studies in Sydney, Australia. She is offered a job as a waitress, but it's a job with a twist - all the waitresses are dressed in lingerie. However she is unaware that the agency who offered her the job is actually initiating her into a very different role - one of a depraved and demeaning nature.
Lucy is to be sedated and will work as a 'sleeping beauty' - a girl who will be unaware of what is happening to her while she is unconscious - at the hands of several paying customers. It's not long until the psychological effects of what happens to her while she is sedated begin to affect her everyday life and she is forced to find out what has been happening to her.
Straight away I felt that this film would be difficult to watch, but that there was also a good probability that in some way it'd ultimately be rewarding and possibly uplifting.
I realised that there might be some scenes of soft-core titillation, but I hoped that it would also have wonderfully brave and distinctive performances and that the film would focus on the psychological aspects of Lucy's job rather than any of the perverted happenings that were likely to take place. I was hoping that any nudity or sexual content would be handled with complete sensitivity.
One thing I will say is that I believe that the depiction of forced sex has no place on the cinema screen. No place at all. Ever. That said I'm not going to give a personal opinion upon whether this film is depraved or morally unacceptable. All I will say is that there are several scenes that could certainly be considered crude and to anyone's sensibilities perverted.
As for the cast, Browning produces a fearless performance, one that proves she is capable of anything. The sexual scenes alone must have been hard to film, but the medical scenes could not have been easy either. Quite why she should want to push herself to these limits as an actress is beyond my understanding, but it is an audacious performance. The supporting characters are mostly physically, or morally, repugnant and the cast do a very believable job of bringing these characters to life.
Leigh's direction is impressive, especially as this is her debut film. It's observational in approach, yet her confidence as a director is evident and her directorial mark is clearly stamped on the film. I'm not exactly sure what Leigh, or the film, is trying to say; be it politically, socially or psychologically, but her skills as a director are unquestionable.
I could perhaps argue that there is an element of art in Sleeping Beauty, but I'd have to concede that underneath any art there still lies some form of exploitation. Sleeping Beauty will certainly provoke debate amongst viewers and film scholars alike. Opinions will, as always, be divided. Some viewers may not be willing to endure the entire film in order to draw their own conclusions but I certainly wouldn't condemn anyone for that. This is a visceral and gritty film and it's certainly not going to be palatable to everyone.
Ultimately therefore, whilst I may be able to see some merits, I can not whole-heartedly recommend it. Should you choose to watch this film or not, will be reliant upon your own tastes and sensitivities.
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Please note this is a region B Blu-ray and will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play You will go to sleep you will wake up It will be as if those hours never existed Quietly reckless Lucy (Emily Browning - Suckerpunch) is a young university student who takes a job as a Sleeping Beauty In the Sleeping Beauty Chamber old men seek an erotic experience that requires a drugged comatose Lucy&39;s absolute submission This unsettling task starts to bleed into Lucy&39;s daily life as she develops an increasing need to know what happens to her when she is asleep Haunting and provocative Julia Leigh&39;s powerful vision is one of the most startling debut features of recent years
Drama in which a young, female student is drawn further and further into a sexual underworld. Lucy (Emily Browning) is a young woman who works several part-time, noncommittal jobs. It is fairly clear that her personal relationships are of a similarly shallow and fleeting nature; Lucy is alienated from her alcoholic mother and the closest thing she appears to have to a genuine friend is the self-destructive Birdmann (Ewen Leslie). When she applies for the role of 'Silver Service Waitress', Lucy is introduced to the bizarre world of Clara (Rachael Blake). Clara operates as the maitre d' of an establishment that caters to the eccentric sexual tastes of rich men. Lucy soon finds herself being drugged in order to play the role of 'Sleeping Beauty' and slipping into a world beyond her control.
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