Unsane (2018)

A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution, where she is confronted by her greatest fear--but is it real or a product of her delusion?

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writers:

Jonathan Bernstein, James Greer

Stars:

Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joshua Leonard	...	David Strine
Claire Foy	...	Sawyer Valentini
Sarah Stiles	...	Jill
Marc Kudisch	...	Bank Manager
Amy Irving	...	Angela Valentini
Colin Woodell	...	Mark
Myra Lucretia Taylor	...	Counselor
Lynda Mauze	...	Dolores
Zach Cherry	...	Dennis
Polly McKie	...	Nurse Boles
Jay Pharoah	...	Nate Hoffman
Raúl Castillo	...	Jacob (as Raul Castillo)
Juno Temple	...	Violet
Michael Mihm	...	Steve (as Mike Mihm)
Robert Kelly	...	Steve's Partner

Storyline

Sawyer Valentini is a troubled woman who moves away from home to escape a stalker. Sawyer finds she is still triggered by interactions with men as a result of her experiences. She makes an appointment with a counselor at Highland Creek Behavioral Center. At her appointment, she unknowingly signs a release voluntarily committing herself to a 24-hour stay. She calls the police but they do nothing when they see the signed release. After physical altercations with a patient and a staff member, Dr. Hawthorne says she is being kept for seven more days. Another patient, Nate Hoffman, gives Sawyer an introduction to the place. Highland Creek is running a scheme to milk health insurance claims for profit. They trick people into voluntarily committing themselves as long as the patients' insurance companies continue to pay; when insurance claims run out, the patient is "cured". One day, Sawyer sees David Strine, her stalker, working as an orderly under the assumed name George Shaw. She has an ...

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Plot Keywords:

mental institution | stalking | stalker | stabbed in the eye | lesbian kiss | 

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Taglines:

Is she or isn't she?

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for disturbing behavior, violence, language, and sex references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Unsane

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,762,145, 25 March 2018, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$7,732,899

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,167,063, 14 August 2018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Extension 765, New Regency Pictures, Regency Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.56 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was shot entirely on the iPhone 7 Plus in 4K using the app FiLMiC Pro.

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Goofs

There are long strings hanging from lights in patient areas, which wouldn't be present in a real psychiatric facility.

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Quotes

[first lines]
David Strine: [narrating] I love it when you wear blue. I mean, I love you in anything. But you wore blue that first time I saw you, so anytime I see you in blue, it reminds me of how I felt at that moment. How I never really knew what being alive was until I saw you. You unlocked something inside me that day, something I didn't even realize was there. And right then, I knew that nothing in my life was ever going to be the same. In that moment, I was transformed permanently. You did that.

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Connections

Referenced in Midnight Screenings: Pacific Rim: Uprising/Unsane (2018)

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Soundtracks

Burn
Written by Lola G.
Performed by DTCV
Courtesy of Vivarock Music (ASCAP)

User Reviews

A gripping thriller that expertly puts you in the shoes of its protagonist.

While its grammatically-challenged title is just as likely to test your sanity as anything in the film itself (perhaps by design, I'll add), Steven Soderbergh's second return from retirement seeks to 'change the game' and prove that you don't need a proper camera or fancy lighting to make a film, just an iPhone, a decent script, a competent cast and crew and, most importantly, the will, time, money and passion to do it all. Luckily, 'Unsane (2018)' has all that in spades. It could easily pass for something shot on one of those fancy cameras and actually has a tangible and, appropriately, an almost 'followed-around-with-a-camera' stalker vibe to it. It's a wonderfully frustrating, rewardingly claustrophobic and tensely insular experience that sticks you right in the slightly off-kilter head of its protagonist and does a great job of making you feel exactly the way she does at every moment. The pace is almost perfect, as we're dealt a number of blows every time we begin to get comfortable in each new situation, and the slow descent from slightly strange to straight-up sinister is a palpable and uncomfortable one. The fact that the sanity of the hero is called into question is a great move, though it isn't pushed quite as far as it perhaps could have been, and it keeps you unsure about everything you see. The nods back to classic seventies horror, including a soundtrack reminiscent of 'Halloween (1978)', were appreciated as well. I was constantly on the edge of my seat throughout this gripping, agitating, intriguing and generally very entertaining thriller. 8/10