Sleepless is directed by Baran Bo Odar and is a remake of the 2011 French/Belgian thriller ‘’Sleepless Night (Nuit Blanche)’’. Jamie Foxx stars as a cop with a connection to the criminal underworld who scours a nightclub in search of his kidnapped son (Octavius J. Johnson). Along with not only trying to save his son’s life by returning the drugs he stole, his corruption comes home to roost as he finds himself pursued by Internal Affairs investigator Bryant (Michelle Monaghan).
Foxx tries very hard to be tough, but his formidable charisma is barely on display here. Monaghan overplays her character’s Inspector Javert-like tendencies to the point of near-silliness. Some of the supporting players, including Mulroney and McNairy as the bad guys, and David Harbour as Bryant’s cop partner fare better by comparison. However, Gabrielle Union is totally wasted as Vincent’s wife, who spends most of the proceedings worriedly making phoning calls.
The movie is also not very plausible, in a way that cuts down on its entertainment value. Watching “Sleepless,” you must keep consciously suspending your disbelief. At one point Vincent poses as a hotel worker and he’s got his head down in an elevator so that Bryant won’t spot him — and then, just like that, he glances up, and he is spotted. The only reason for this? The director, Baran bo Odar, thought it made for a cool shot.
In a hotel suite, Vincent tries to convince Bryant that he’s been working undercover (not for vice but for Internal Affairs), and she refuses to believe him. All of which makes you wonder, does a dogged IA investigator like Bryant realise that when a fellow officer appears to be doing a drug deal, he might be undercover? The talented Monaghan does what she can to keep it convincing, but fails.
I really can’t say anything good about this film, the cast tries but is let down by poor directing, a script with bad dialogue and is so contrived you might think it was written by a 10-year-old. Just a very poor and unentertaining film that easily gets my recommendation of “don’t waste your hard earned money”.
Well that’s my two cents on the film Sleepless, please let me know what you think of the film down below and as always, I am Mr Moody and it’s been my pleasure to serve you.
