Sleeper (2018)

Directed by: Philippe Gagnon | 90 minutes | thriller | Actors: Kara Killmer, Brett Donahue, Mylène Dinh-Robic, Rayisa Kondracki, Joe Cobden, Mark Camacho, Barbara Gordon, Daniel Brochu, Neil Kroetsch, Lisa Bronwyn Moore

At a time when women are thankfully more and more valued in society – wages are rising and in Hollywood more attention is being paid to strong roles for women – the Canadian TV movie ‘Sleeper’ is a big step backwards. In this captivating thriller, the female gender comes off rather poorly. The ‘heroine’ of this production is in fact a pushy housewife who is quite dependent on her husband and who lets her raison d’être depend on his affection. That can’t be the intention, can it?

‘Sleeper’ revolves around the blonde Jennifer (Kara Killmer). She’s married to Freddy (Brett Donahue), but this florist doesn’t make her heart beat faster. In addition, our heroine distrusts her husband. He is absent and turns out to be lying to her. After some detective work, Jennifer discovers that Brett is not the person he claims to be.

There’s a lot wrong with this cheaply made TV movie. It all starts with the casting. Killmer (very cool name, but that aside) portrays Jennifer as a kenau. When her husband takes her out to dinner to celebrate their seven-year marriage, she can only complain about his choice of restaurant. It doesn’t matter to her that the best man wants to surprise her. She wants more excitement and now! Jennifer is a whining and nagging serpent of a woman and immediately gets on the nerves. An unnecessary side plot about an unresolved miscarriage should give her some sympathy, but that fails hopelessly. Freddy comes across as a lot more human and that is not the intention.

What makes this film so ‘special’ is the way in which the relationship between man and woman is reflected. Jennifer makes her self-esteem depend on what her husband thinks of her (“Do you still like me?”) and even spies on him (she doesn’t seem to have a busy job herself). Instead of choosing her own happiness, she lets her husband decide her fate. You should not watch pre-emancipation film ‘Sleeper’ for strong female roles. Besides an unsympathetic main character, this production has many more negatives.

Director Philippe Gagnon is a film maker who continuously makes these unimaginative TV films. Quantity over quality is his credo. This ‘Sleeper’ isn’t as crazy as his previously released Saw-for-Viva reader film ‘Girls’ Night Out’, but it’s close. The acting is lousy and never rises above the level of amateur theatre. The plot twist at the end is laughable and you shouldn’t expect much in terms of cinematography either. This is a loveless production to fill airtime.