A tantalizing drama, State Like Sleep becomes a nightmare of reasoning for one woman who’s dumbfounded over the death of her husband. The film has some good acting, direction and cinematography, but the story wavers from past to present a bit too much for it to come together for a reasonable final curtain. If you like a lot of suspense, mystery and a good measure of intrigue, then it’s worth the watch.
Katherine (Katherine Waterston) is a noted photographer married to a rising movie star Stefan (Michael Husiman). The two have only been married for two years when she finds him at home dead with a shot to the head. With not many reasonable reasons for a possible suicide, she decides to trace his steps that night before, tries to figure out if it could be due to their marriage, questions people from his recent past, and tries to get to the bottom of such a hurtful way to die. With her investigation waning, she bumps into Edward (Michael Shannon), a neighbor who lives down the hall from her, and he breathes new life into the search.
During her prying she comes across his base participation in an underworld of sex, drugs and pretense. Director Meredith Danluck sets up a good story with characters that fit into the nightmarish script. Taking Katherine on some twists that begin a maze of Stefan’s close friends, a possible interlude, the police and her own friends, we are led into a compelling mystery that comes full circle. She even adds some sordid confidants, a medical emergency with her mother and a run in with Stephan’s disparaging mother to spice up the film.
What makes the film rise above average is the acting by Katherine Waterston, Luke Evans and Michael Shannon that makes the strange script work. As Emile, an old friend who owns a classy, but illicit nightclub, Luke Evans bleach blondes his hair and puts on a tough persona. He openly allows drug users, prostitutes and even sleazy characters to roam his joint, but the money from this clientele is what keeps him afloat. His connection to Stefan is more than just a customer and Katherine starts to suspect him of wrong doing. Nicely played, his character gives the film a nice twist for the Katherine character to delve deeper in her suspicion of a possible murder.
Waterston does a good job of holding onto her character and not being overly compassionate about her husband’s death. Helping that along, director Danluck adds other problems like a stroke and a disagreement with her mother and mother-in-law. While I’m not completely fond of the two mother roles, I could see where Danluck is going with the side stories. However, it becomes a distraction from her set-up tale of the death being of suspicious nature. If her audience can deal with the diversions, it should not bother the final outcome. I do like the fact that the script called for Katherine Waterston to cut her long hair after Stefan’s death so the audience will know when the film is in flashback mode.
Michael Shannon steps into a different kind of role that I’m used to seeing him take on. Here he’s this neighbor who shows up living down the hall from Katherine and seems to be in the right place at the right time throughout the film. I believe his character is intended to increase the suspicions by Katherine, but it never pans out enough to make Edward more than an object of her desires.
State Like Sleep has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, drug use, language and sexuality. I am not exactly sure that the target audience will come away from the movie with more than an “it was something to do” feeling for it.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good date night film. (3 out of 5 Stars)
Specifications and additional video information:
Starring: Katherine Waterston, Michael Shannon, Luke Evans, Michiel Huisman and Mary Kay Place
Directed and written by: Meredith Danluck
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Running Time: 1 hr. 44 min.
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Distributed by: The Orchard
Released Formats: Standard
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
