Unmade Beds (1997)

Director:

Nicholas Barker

Writer:

Nicholas Barker (writer)

Release Date:

7 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The private hell of four single New Yorkers made public for your viewing pleasure.

Plot:

A black comedy about vanity and lust in contemporary America. In the middle of the sexual jungle of New York's singles' world...

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Independent Film

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Aimee Copp	...	Herself
Michael De Stefano	...	Himself
Brenda Monte	...	Herself
Mikey Russo	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heather Feeney	...	Woman
Ronnie Marmo	...	Man

MPAA:

Rated R for language, including sex-related dialogue, and nudity.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

France | UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Chelsea Pictures

Trivia:

Barker shot the film in NY City with a tiny crew of seven people over the period of a full year, through all four seasons. He and his staff had first interviewed nearly a thousand candidates for the leads, picked four after an arduous process, then edited the transcripts of their video interviews, and shot the final film on film carefully directing them in the new truthful, but more dramatic script.

This film might be upsetting to some, but it is a fresh look at old problems, a study of human behavior, and under the guise of being a documentary.

Whether the story is entirely true or in some parts made up, as the director stated it is, is unimportant; the film covers the intriguing subject matter of how four single New Yorkers exist for a period of nine months, featuring the real lives of two female and two male actors who play themselves, concerned with getting older and still being single. Their single scene is provocatively portrayed as being sad and luridly comical. It is a film that highlights the problems that can be found in urban areas across America, as we bear witness to the plight of these singles trying to search for a mate through the internet and the personals, faced with agonizing loneliness and unresolved psychological problems. That these four are not particularly people that I can readily sympathize with, does not alter the fact that this is a very human story being told, one that has many implications on our culture, relating how alienated a people so many of us have become in this modern world.