Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Director:

Julia Leigh

Writer:

Julia Leigh (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 December 2011 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A haunting portrait of Lucy, a young university student drawn into a mysterious hidden world of unspoken desires.

Plot Keywords:

Student | Bed | Erotica | Forced To Strip | Bra And Panties

Awards:

6 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Bridgette Barrett	...	Dinner Waitress
Rachael Blake	...	Clara
Hannah Bella Bowden	...	Dinner Waitress
Emily Browning	...	Lucy
Alan Cardy	...	Dinner Guest
Peter Carroll	...	Man 1
Les Chantery	...	Driver
Benita Collings	...	Dinner Guest
Michael Dorman	...	Cook
Eden Falk	...	Thomas
Anni Finsterer	...	Train Riding Hairdresser
Mirrah Foulkes	...	Sophie
James Fraser	...	Guy with Ticket
Robin Goldsworthy	...	Flatmate
Vernon Hayman	...	Dinner Guest
Chris Haywood	...	Man 2
Paul He	...	Student Boyfriend
Hugh Keays-Byrne	...	Man 3
Amit Kelkar	...	Lecturer
Sarah Kinsella	...	Dinner Waitress
Ewen Leslie	...	Birdmann
Tammy Macintosh	...	Work Colleague
Ivy Mak	...	Business Woman
Tracy Mann	...	Waxing Beautician
Stephanie Menere	...	Dinner Waitress
Henry Nixon	...	Lucy's Ex-Boyfriend
Lauren Orrell	...	Dinner Waitress
Nathan Page	...	Businessman 2
Kelly Paterniti	...	Female Student - Bathroom
Lizzie Schebesta	...	Mansion Girl
Natalia Siwek	...	Dinner Waitress
Justin Smith	...	Hallelujah Businessman
Sarah Snook	...	Flatmate
Pearl Tan	...	Pedicure Beautician
Jamie Timony	...	Student Doctor
Joel Tobeck	...	Businessman 1
Sinisa Vrebac	...	Agent
Hannah Wang	...	Student Girlfriend
Daniel Webber	...	Spy Shop Assistant
Matthew Whittet	...	Chef - Dinner Party 1

Directed by
Julia Leigh

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Julia Leigh		screenplay

Produced by
Jessica Brentnall	....	producer
Sasha Burrows	....	associate producer
Jamie Hilton	....	executive producer
Michelle Russell	....	line producer
Timothy White	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Ben Frost

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Simpson

Film Editing by
Nick Meyers

Casting by
Nikki Barrett

Production Design by
Annie Beauchamp

Art Direction by
Jocelyn Thomas

Set Decoration by
Lisa Thompson

Costume Design by
Shareen Beringer

Makeup Department
Catherine Biggs	....	makeup artist
Lesley Vanderwalt	....	makeup & hair designer
Lesley Vanderwalt	....	makeup department head

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Breeze Callahan	....	third assistant director
Dimitri Ellerington	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Zuzia Buszewicz	....	art department assistant
Claire Dignam	....	design assistant
Henry Downes	....	art runner
Greg Hajdu	....	construction coordinator
Ross Perkin	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Yulia Akerholt	....	dialogue editor
Paradox Delilah	....	sound assistant
Les Fiddess	....	foley artist
Sam Hayward	....	re-recording engineer
Robert Mackenzie	....	sound re-recording mixer
Gerry Nucifora	....	boom operator
Ben Osmo	....	sound recordist
Martin Oswin	....	foley mixer
Sam Petty	....	sound designer
Brooke Trezise	....	sound effects editor

Visual Effects by
Simon Alberry	....	data manager
Matthew T. Griffin	....	digital compositor
James Rogers	....	visual effects supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Sian Bates	....	second assistant camera
Sian Bates	....	video split operator
Andrew Johnson	....	steadicam operator
Wendy McDougall	....	still photographer
Matthew Spowart	....	second assistant "a" camera

Casting Department
Danny Long	....	casting associate
Diana Ward	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Elly Kamal	....	costume supervisor
Dan Owen	....	assistant costume stand-by
Christina Validakis	....	costume buyer

Editorial Department
Brad Dunn	....	digital conform editor
Olivier Fontenay	....	colorist
Katherine Heads	....	digital intermediate producer
Annabelle Johnson	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Alex Cardy	....	assistant to producer
Michael Horvath	....	production secretary
Louise McNicholl	....	location manager
Reza Mokhtar	....	caterer
Patrick Rohr	....	production runner
Cassandra Simpson	....	production coordinator
Nathan Smith	....	I/O operations liaison
Lucy Vorst	....	production accountant
Diana Ward	....	assistant to director

Thanks
Jane Campion	....	very special thanks
Bec Smith	....	very special thanks

Production Companies

• Screen Australia (presents)
• Magic Films (presents)
• Screen NSW (in association with)
• Deluxe Australia (in association with)
• Spectrum Films (in association with)
• Big Ears Productions (in association with)
• Fulcrum Media Finance (financed in association with)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• First Distributors (2011) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• ARP Sélection (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2011) (Japan) (theatrical)
• MegaVision (2011) (Philippines) (theatrical)
• Shaw Organisation (2012) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Transmission (2011) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Vinny Filmes (2012) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Wild Bunch Benelux (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Capelight Pictures (2012) (Germany) (all media)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2011) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2012) (Taiwan) (all media)
• Incognito Films (2011) (Estonia) (all media)
• Incognito Films (2011) (Latvia) (all media)
• Incognito Films (2011) (Lithuania) (all media)
• Kam & Ronson Enterprise Co (2012) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Mares Filmes (2012) (Brazil) (all media)
• R Film (2011) (Turkey) (all media)
• Sundance Selects (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2012) (Argentina) (DVD)

Other Companies

• De Lane Lea  ADR recording
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Redline Sound Studios  adr and foley recording

Also Known As:

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Japan:R15+ | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | France:16 | USA:Not Rated | Philippines:R-18 (MTRCB) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Singapore:R21 | Canada:16+ (Québec) | Netherlands:16 | Argentina:16 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Brazil:16

Filming Locations:

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Screen Australia

Trivia:

Emily Browning replaced Mia Wasikowska who dropped out to do Jane Eyre (2011).

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Lucy is telling her mom her credit card number she only says twelve digits. Visa cards have thirteen or sixteen.

Quotes:

Man 1:Rise up and walk, none of your bones are broken.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.18" (2011)

Don't Fall Asleep. You Might Miss It!

When you create a film and title it "Sleeping Beauty," you had better not make it boring. Otherwise, you'll get reviews utilizing every possible play on the word "sleep," but more importantly, word of mouth will spread using the same types of puns. When you use a title made famous by the Disney animation, you're going to have to guard against those comparisons as well. As you can see, this film is already on the defensive.

To put even more pressure on "Sleeping Beauty," before it has even begun, is the fact that it is the directorial debut of a novelist. Julia Leigh also wrote the screenplay, but it is her first time stepping behind the camera to helm a film production. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it means an even bigger risk was taken by the studios, and just as many debuts fall flat as they do flourish. Luckily, Leigh's is a success, even if her film isn't going to be something that many people are going to enjoy.

To start the film, we begin by watching the daily routine of a young woman named Lucy (Emily Browning). The first scene made me cringe, as we find out that one of her many jobs involves testing out medical equipment. We watch a tube being inserted down her throat. This is done in one unflinching shot that has the opposite effect on the viewer. Later on, we learn she also does office work and works at a restaurant, but the medical testing was by far her worst job.

Why does she need to work three jobs? That's really a good question. We learn that she's behind on her rent, and also goes to school. Maybe school is really expensive, but she only seems to have one class, which can't be too heavy a burden. She's renting a room from people she knows, and I wouldn't think that would be that expensive either. Why she doesn't pay her rent on time, I'll never know. This isn't a film that's going to lay things out for you.

Because working three jobs isn't enough for Lucy, she inquires about an ad in the paper that requires her to serve dinner to old rich men while wearing lingerie. It pays $250 an hour, although it's freelance work, we're told. She works once, and after she gets home, she burns a $20 bill. Why? Again, I don't know, and it's actions like this that make me think she isn't wanting for cash. Regardless, working multiple jobs, including the dinner-while-wearing-lingerie one, continues for most of the film, even as her performance gets so bad that she sometimes sleeps on the floor while working.

Sleeping is something she'll end up doing quite a bit as the film continues on. She was told when she took the server job that there were opportunities for promotion. She gets that chance later on, when she's told that she can take a drug, lay naked in bed while passed out, and sleep for a few hours. Oh, and an elderly man will come in and sleep with her while she's knocked out. "Sleep with" in the literal sense of the meaning, as actual intercourse is forbidden.

Not that Lucy really cares. She doesn't seem to care much about herself, and would probably have accepted the job without the binding rule. She's the type of nihilist that will do whatever anyone wants her to do at the flip of a coin. At a bar, she's approached and asked if she wants some cocaine. "Why not?" is her response. Later, two men she just met actually use a coin to decide which one would have sex with her that night. She doesn't care, although come to think of it, I can't remember her saying "no" once to anyone in the film. She's very polite, even if she has no regard for her own body.

There's a lot of symbolism in the film, and if you thought this was a film that's going to make it easy on you, you can look elsewhere. You're going to have to infer a great deal about the characters and their reason for doing what they do for most of the time you watch them. I can see this being seen by some as a lack of character depth and development, but I think it's all there and just hidden behind imagery and a classic fairy tale. The way I saw "Sleeping Beauty," it actually does steal a couple of things from Disney cartoon. Unfortunately, giving that away now might change the way you view the film, so instead, go in with as fresh a mind as you can. This is a movie that will reward subsequent viewings.

If there's a problem here, it's the character of Lucy. She's often difficult to like, and because she's such an apathetic person, not a lot goes on. She's little farther, for better or worse, when the film ends than when it began. None of the blame can go to Emily Browning, as she plays her without fear, but the way the character is written means that she's not exactly amiable or has a decent enough personality to build a film around. This is largely forgotten about once it gets going, but upon reflection, making her grow as the film progressed would have improved it as a whole.

Regardless, I was engaged by "Sleeping Beauty." Is it for everyone? Not at all. If you like artsy films that are there for you to figure out instead of being told everything about them, then it might work for you. It has a solid performance from Emily Browning in the lead role, and it has enough imagery and symbolism to keep you coming back for another watch. That is, if you don't fall asleep during the first time.