I won't give any spoilers except for what is in the trailer. You can watch that below my post. Actually, I think the trailer gives out even more spoilers than I am prepared to give away here. Maybe you shouldn't watch the trailer after all.
Unsane is director Steven Soderbergh's latest film. I'm not even going to try to count them all. He's been making feature films for 29 years, including Traffic, Ocean's Eleven (and it's 2 sequels), Erin Brockevich, Magic Mike and Logan Lucky. His movies tend to jump genres. Not everybody would necessarily like all of them. This is maybe a bit more unusual for him in that there is little comedy relief and is more a thriller leaning toward horror film. Don't be fooled by the appearance of SNL alum Jay Pharoah. This isn't a comedic performance. He's a surprisingly talented actor, showing he can do more than just impressions.
This movie was shot with an iPhone 7. This is not the first feature film shot with a mobile phone, Sean Baker's Tangerine being the most well-known before this. I don't think this should be dismissed as mere gimmick. It's kind of inspiring as someone who dabbles in video production (well I went to school for it 14 years ago). It's like the modern HD equivalent of shooting on 16mm film (Clerks, Fruitvale Station) or digital video (Chuck and Buck). Besides adding to it's visual feel, it creates an opening for low budget directors to display their talents. Of course, Steven Soderbergh is well established and just seems to be happy to take a try at this format while it's still consisidered a bit of a novelty for a theatrical release.
The story starts off a bit slow, with Sawyer Valentini(Claire Foy) working a seemingly ambitious career office job that might be described as actually completely dull and soul-killing. Oh wait, maybe that's me injecting my hatred of office life. Anyway, it's revealed through voiceover that she had to leave Boston for this new city (is it Philadelphia?) to avoid a stalker. She displays bouts of what might be a borderline personality, meeting Tinder dates for one night stands before abruptly ending them in an eruption of torment. She sees her stalker everywhere and so decides to look into a stalking victims support group. After mentioning suicidal thoughts she is suddenly being committed in a mental health hospital.
Is she paranoid or is everybody really out to get her? That is the central question while watching the film. The director does not give up the answer too easily or too soon. The viewer should be frustrated by her situation and be equally as maddened that this could happen to anyone. She was just looking for help and suddenly finding herself in a One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest situation. She signed what she thought was standard paperwork but turned out to be a voluntary commitment, which she could not back out of. This part of the film is actually based on or at least inspired by real events.
Jay Pharoah, as fellow patient Nate Hoffman, is the one person in the hospital who believes Sawyer, even while she (and the audience) starts to doubt her own sanity. Again, wow, Jay Pharoah is a really good actor. I was disappointed that SNL fired him with one season left in his contract, but he obviously has better things ahead for him.
I won't reveal anymore of the plot, except to say it develops in directions I did not expect. There are a couple stories that play out and it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster.
I usually don't like to rate every movie, but since I categorized this as a review, I'll give this a B+. Just be warned that in my future reviews I will have no consistency in my ratings system.
