Sleepless (2017)

Directed by: Baran bo Odar | 96 minutes | action, crime, thriller | Actors: Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Scoot McNairy, Dermot Mulroney, TI, David Harbour, Gabrielle Union, Octavius ​​J. Johnson, Tim Connolly, Drew Sheer, Sala Baker, Tim Rigby, Elijah Everett, Tess Malis Kincaid, Steve Coulter

In 2011, French director/screenwriter Frédéric Jardin made ‘Nuit blanche’, a thrilling crime film starring Tomer Sisley as Vincent, a police officer who is not entirely clear whether he is corrupt or not. The success of the film did not go unnoticed, four years later the Bollywood version of ‘Nuit blanche’ came out and of course Hollywood can not be left behind. ‘Sleepless’ is the title of the American remake, a nod to the French title, which means sleepless night. But not only that uninspired and unclear title will make you scratch your head while watching, the film itself feels superfluous in everything.

Jamie Foxx plays Vincent Downs, the cop who intercepts a bag full of cocaine in Las Vegas with his partner Sean. Of course, as law-abiding law enforcement officers, they know exactly what the procedure is to follow, but that wouldn’t make a movie, so the two push the drugs back. Not a smart move, because the owner of the merchandise, casino boss Rubino (Dermot Mulroney) immediately hits back and kidnaps Vincent’s teenage son. If the agent wants to see him alive again, he has to get over the bridge with the cocaine.

So said so done? Of course, that wouldn’t make a film either, so Vincent is hot on his heels by Jennifer Bryant (Michelle Monaghan), a passionate agent from the internal affairs department. She suspects that Vincent cannot be trusted and she skillfully thwarts his plans that evening. Her tenacity irritates her partner Dennison just a little too much, so what should be the plot’s biggest surprise is soon revealed. At the same time, Rubino has to keep his buyer, Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy) on the line again, because he is also anxiously waiting for the drugs.

This may all sound more complicated than it is, but it’s not that bad. The complicating factor that Vincent’s ex-wife, played by Gabrielle Union, is hardly an obstacle, and only gives the viewer the impression that she is wrongly getting little screen time. Plusje is the strongly written role that has been assigned to Monaghan and Scoot McNairy also knows how to get everything out of his role and splashes off the canvas. Furthermore, ‘Sleepless’ is unfortunately one of the clichés of the genre, an action film that hangs together, with a protagonist who does not convince in any emotion and whose story mainly feels chewed up. It looks easy, yes, and the film is still quite entertaining, but you don’t miss anything if you skip ‘Sleepless’.