Unsane (2018)

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh | 98 minutes | horror, thriller | Actors: Claire Foy, Jay Pharaoh, Joshua Leonard, Juno Temple, Aimee Mullins, Amy Irving, Sarah Stiles, Colin Woodell, Lynda Mauze, Zach Cherry, Polly McKie, Raúl Castillo, Michael Mihm, Erin Wilhelmi

A cinema film entirely filmed with an iPhone. A bold step for renowned director Steven Soderbergh, best known to the general public for the ‘Oceans’ film, and just before ‘Unsane’ responsible for the entertaining heist film ‘Logan Lucky’. Although the choice to opt for this film style certainly shows guts, Soderbergh unfortunately doesn’t push through that courage in ‘Unsane’.

‘Unsane’ evokes a strong voyeuristic feeling from the first minute. We follow Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy), who is tormented by neurosis and anxiety, triggered by some traumatic experiences with a stalker. When a Tinder date turns into yet another panic attack, Sawyer (high in the category of strangely chosen movie character names) decides to seek help and to consult a psychiatric center. After venting her heart, Sawyer is asked by the psychiatrist to briefly participate in some tests, after which she is admitted to the clinic to her own surprise. From her only normal roommate, Nate (a strong role of Jay Pharoah), Sawyer learns that insured patients are deliberately admitted against their will so that the clinic can remain profitable. As soon as the insurance money is used up, the patients are then declared ‘healthy’. And as if the forced admissions weren’t enough, Sawyer thinks he recognizes her stalker in one of the doctors, which only increases her paranoia.

‘Unsane’ works very well, especially in the first hour. Soderbergh constantly evokes a strong claustrophobic atmosphere and knows how to capture the paranoia that Sawyer is confronted with. That is also largely due to Claire Foy, who under Soderbergh gets the chance to completely shake off her aristocratic appearance as Queen Elizabeth from “The Crown”. Foy knows how to keep her complex character pretty accessible and ensures that the viewer continues to empathize with her.

Yet Foy cannot prevent the film from losing some power in the last part. The feeling of paranoia that characterizes the first hour of ‘Unsane’ is pushed to the background by Soderbergh, and towards the end the film turns more and more into a somewhat simple B-thriller. And that’s a shame, precisely because Soderbergh portrays his main character so beautifully ambivalent in the first hour. Because even the viewer initially does not know what reality is and what is going on in Sawyers’ head. In the final part of the film, Soderbergh seems to mainly want to satisfy his audience by giving as many answers as possible, so that the film loses its appeal and is less close to your skin. So it would have been courageous if Soderbergh had dared to delve even deeper into Sawyer’s psyche, instead of taking the slightly too safe path. At first Soderbergh plays cleverly with the boundary between perception and reality, but as soon as this boundary blurs ‘Unsane’ becomes less interesting. What also doesn’t help is that the stalker (Joshua Leonard) becomes more and more a caricature towards the end and conforms too strongly to the laws of the thriller genre. Leonard’s acting is also not consistent enough to impress throughout the entire film.

Steven Soderbergh has largely succeeded in making an oppressive and strongly claustrophobic thriller. The choice to film ‘Unsane’ entirely with an iPhone turns out quite well and enhances the alienating effect of Sawyer’s environment. A little more daring wouldn’t have hurt ‘Unsane’ though and the film certainly gets too easy towards the end. The obligatory flashbacks (including a curious and rather unhelpful cameo by one of Soderbergh’s regular actors) could perhaps have been omitted. Between the lines, Soderbergh still criticizes American greed and the bizarre health care system, but it never becomes more than a few casual pinpricks. The main asset of the film is Claire Foy, who once again proves to be one of the most talented actresses of the moment with this role. All in all, ‘Unsane’ is a fine thriller, which unfortunately doesn’t quite live up to its potential.