Review: Chasing Sleep (2000)

Several times in my life, I've gone for over 24 hours without sleep. Sometimes deliberate (especially during my college years) and sometimes not (insomnia). I'm sure that most people have at some point in their life, and I'm sure that quite a few have gone without sleep even longer than I have. For that reason, I imagine that everyone can relate to the way the world becomes just a bit off when you're deprived of the rest your mind needs. You're not quite as in control of yourself and your mind almost seems a bit numb. It's an odd feeling, and the longer you go without sleep, the less real things can seem. Or maybe it's just me and I'm off my rocker.

You'll notice I haven't said anything about the movie yet. Did I dislike it? No. Did I like it? ...eh.

Chasing Sleep starts off with the main character, Ed Saxon, laying in bed, not sleeping. He gets up and makes a phone call and we find out from his conversation that his wife hasn't come home yet, but that she should have been home several hours ago. Ed calls the police to report her missing. As things move along, we also learn that Ed has trouble sleeping. The movie focuses on Ed and never leaves the area of his house aside from a single flashback scene, and through the events that take place we learn more about Ed, his wife, their relationship together and what's become of her. I'm not going to spoil the movie, though, so that's as specific as I'll get with regards to the plot.

So why do I give the movie an "eh"? Well, the movie tries to be something more than a mystery. Since the movie focuses on Ed, it's hard to tell which events that we see are real and which aren't. Because Ed doesn't sleep, there are times that an event may be a waking dream, or Ed may have nodded off without realizing it and is dreaming. Basically, we can't tell if something that we see is really happening or if Ed just thinks it's happening. And we also can't tell what's off due to his screwed up perspective. For example, after Ed calls the police, they say they'll send someone over to take his statement (or something). Before Ed finishes hanging up the phone, headlights shine through his window as a car pulls up. It's the officer that's there to take his statement. It's impossible that the police arrived so fast, so did Ed blank out for a moment? It seems likely. There are other points where time seems to jump forward when it seems that only a few seconds pass. The movie does do a pretty good job of capturing the somewhat unreal feeling that a person who hasn't slept is experiencing, though.

The movie is also heavily into symbolism. We see water in this movie. A lot. Everyone seems to ask Ed for a drink of water. Ed's bathtub is clogged and fills up a bit as he showers. Ed's pipes seem to leak (See Ed find a damp spot on his wall from the leaky pipe, poke through it with this finger and then deliberately tear a huge hole in it! Who the hell would do that?!). Water water everywhere. What does it mean? Was the filmmaker all wet? (You may all groan now.) No, there is significance to the water (and I'll leave it at that).

The other thing that you keep seeing in this movie is people taking pills of one sort or another. The cop that comes to take the statement pops pills (aspirin, I think). Ed's constantly taking something to try to help him sleep. The police detective that's investigating the disappearance of Ed's wife takes something. What does all of THAT mean? Er... well, I'm not entirely sure (maybe I'm just dense with regards to that one).

So the story is okay. The pacing is actually quite good (the only thing that dragged was a sex scene, and even that wasn't purely gratuitous). The acting is fine. So what's not to like? Well, for some reason the movie just didn't quite do it for me. For one thing, it felt as if the director wasn't quite skilled enough to pull off the surrealism that he was shooting for. For another, the symbolism was a bit heavy-handed and could have been handled with a lighter touch. Having water in so many scenes is one thing, but focusing on it so directly seemed to be a mistake. And for some reason, the movie came across as pretentious. I can't explain exactly why, but I think it was because the director just wasn't skilled enough to make the sort of movie he was trying to.

So... do I recommend this movie? Sure, but be warned that you may not like it. It strikes me as a movie that some people will like a lot more than others. In a way, it's like the world is when you haven't gotten enough sleep: a bit off. That's appropriate, though, I suppose.