Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Sleeping Beauty: Directed by Julia Leigh. With Bridgette Barrett, Rachael Blake, Hannah Bella Bowden, Emily Browning. A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.

“This movieu0026#39;s trailer got people talking because of its very Kubrick vibe. And, in fact, the movie explores territory very similar to u0026#39;Eyes Wide Shutu0026#39;. How sex has become more liberal and extreme, yet also sterile and disconnected.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe lead character, Lucy, (Emily Browning – a long way from Lemony Snicket) exhibits this. Sheu0026#39;ll sleep with people at the drop of a hat, yet with little evidence of desire. In fact, thereu0026#39;s hardly any evidence that she processes strong emotions at all. She just goes about her business. Things happen to her, and sheu0026#39;s too reticent to shrug them off.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTo solve financial worries, Lucy gets a job at a posh, exclusive establishment where she is willingly placed naked and unconscious in a bedroom for a client, to do with her as he wishes (except penetration).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThrough Lucy and the various clients, we see how we need vulnerability in others to relax the masks that we wear. Otherwise, we are so preoccupied with maintaining an image that we donu0026#39;t even try and connect with others. Emily Browning does well at rounding out the expressionless Lucy, and the voyeuristic nature of the material makes the movie entertaining. Unfortunately, the ending, though a pretty logical conclusion, also feel anti-climatic, a tad obvious and leaves us feeling short-changed. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film is an interesting, respectful, non-gratuitous effort, yet many will ultimately find it like the leading lady – pretty impenetrable.”