Movie: Sleepless Night
Director: Frederic Jardin
Cast: Tomer Sisley, Serge Riaboukine and Julien Boisselier
Rating: ***1/2
What do you expect in a film besides love, action, fear, deceit, revenge and unbelievable twist? With all these ingredients tightly woven together, ‘Sleepless Night’ is a gripping tale of cat and mouse game that will leave you in anticipation of what’s about to unfold.
Did you ever think somebody’s sleepless night would be so entertaining? Well, it is, in the case of Vincent, a cop whose son has been taken hostage by Jose Marciano – a powerful drug dealer, after the former along with his partner, Manuel, are caught stealing cocaine. In order to save his son, Vincent should return the cocaine to Jose.
The film for most part of its running time haunts you with one question – who’s good and who’s bad! The action in the film only amplifies with every passing minute of the night. There are no exotic locales, action-packed car chases and make out scenes. All you get to see is three cops in pursuit of each other in an overcrowded club owned by the drug lord.
I haven’t seen any film as novel as ‘Sleepless Night’. And the idea to shoot almost 80% percent of the film in a nightclub is even more exciting than the plot itself. The non-stop thumping music in the pub further accentuates the frenzy mood of the film. Despite all the killings and gun shots, people in the club still continue dancing through the night which I consider weird.
The action is top class and the stunt coordinator deserves special appreciation for same. Unlike action you see in regular action flick, ‘Sleepless Night’ doesn’t boast any dedicated style of fighting. It only promotes the art of self-defense! The men fight with some purpose and just don’t exchange punches at anybody. Vincent uses anything around him to fend off people from reaching him so that he could get back his son.
Frederic creates the perfect environment for one night of insane action. You have a motive, you have angry men, you have a father in search of son, you have two cops in pursuit of the third cop, you have a bag full of cocaine and finally, you have one crazy night to follow. You feel the plot is borrowed from several films such as Die Hard, Taken and any other flick where the father goes out of the line to save his daughter/son. However, writer-director Frederic Jardin goes an extra step to construct a plot that appears clichéd but is far more superior in presentation than anticipated.
The camera moves in all direction, covering nook and corner of the club. This basically helps one understand how big is the turf Vincent and pusurers are running on. Multiple scenes take place inside the crush of the nightclub’s dance floor and it’s impressive that Jardin can keep the focus trained on Vincent and his pursuers.
In essence; ‘Sleepless Night’ is brilliant because everything is wrapped up in one night. The intense feeling it leaves you with stays on for a while before fading away.