Sleeping Beauty (2011)

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

Director:

Julia Leigh

Writers:

Yasunari Kawabata (idea), Julia Leigh (screenplay)

Stars:

Emily Browning, Rachael Blake, Ewen Leslie

5 wins & 29 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Lucy is a university student who is working a number of jobs. She volunteers at a research lab, works at a coffee shop, and as a photocopy clerk in an office. She responds to an advertisement and embarks on an erotic freelance job in which she is required to sleep in bed alongside paying customers.

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Plot Keywords:

sadomasochism | perversion | rape | female full frontal nudity | female star appears nude | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alvó szépség

Filming Locations:

University of Sydney, Camperdown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

AUD 70,204 (Australia), 26 June 2011, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,207, 4 December 2011, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$37,710

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$435,468

Company Credits

Production Co:

Screen Australia, Magic Films, Screen NSW

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

When giving the credit card number to her mother she says it's a Visa card, but the first number she gives is five. All Visa cards start with four; it is MasterCard that starts with five.

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Quotes

Hallelujah Businessman: Some people fake their deaths. I'm faking my life.
Lucy: You're doing a good job.

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Connections

Featured in Brows Held High: Sleeping Beauty (2012)

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Soundtracks

What Gives
Written by Deniz Tek (as D. Tek) and Warwick Gilbert (as W. Gilbert)

User Reviews

5/10

This movie's trailer got people talking because of its very Kubrick vibe. And, in fact, the movie explores territory very similar to 'Eyes Wide Shut'. How sex has become more liberal and extreme, yet also sterile and disconnected.

The lead character, Lucy, (Emily Browning - a long way from Lemony Snicket) exhibits this. She'll sleep with people at the drop of a hat, yet with little evidence of desire. In fact, there's hardly any evidence that she processes strong emotions at all. She just goes about her business. Things happen to her, and she's too reticent to shrug them off.

To solve financial worries, Lucy gets a job at a posh, exclusive establishment where she is willingly placed naked and unconscious in a bedroom for a client, to do with her as he wishes (except penetration).

Through Lucy and the various clients, we see how we need vulnerability in others to relax the masks that we wear. Otherwise, we are so preoccupied with maintaining an image that we don't even try and connect with others. Emily Browning does well at rounding out the expressionless Lucy, and the voyeuristic nature of the material makes the movie entertaining. Unfortunately, the ending, though a pretty logical conclusion, also feel anti-climatic, a tad obvious and leaves us feeling short-changed.

The film is an interesting, respectful, non-gratuitous effort, yet many will ultimately find it like the leading lady - pretty impenetrable.