The Korean psychological thriller “Sleep” could have quickly transformed into a run-of-the-mill horror comedy but their clever storytelling makes it a very effective marital drama that has elements of sleepwalking, paranoia, and ghost stories. Director and writer Jason Yu, in his first feature film, seamlessly blended character-driven gruesome tales with more elaborate ones. He was saved by the fact that the other lead was a well-respected actor who did a fantastic job portraying the intricacies of a fatigued married couple. It is quite difficult to show a relationship in crisis the way “Sleep” has done and the quick his feet demeanor of Yu is without a doubt a huge benefit.
At no point does sleep feel overly dramatized or cliched. The characters solve what can be a chilling mystery. The first thing that Hyun-su (Lee) does when waking up is say “Someone’s inside while in a dazed state”. Neither he nor Soo-jin can decipher what it means, but he does think that their new issue can be quite literally fixed like a jigsaw puzzle that needs a toned approach.
As someone with a vested interest on an emotional level, she took a path that was darker and emotionally more heartbreaking and was far from being an observer.
The twist-filled story of the movie Sleep contains unique character types and features. For instance, the character of ‘Min Jeong’ is critical to the understanding of the Hyun-su and Soo-jin baby plot and does serve as an extra aid to follow the drama unfolding in the movie. Additionally, ‘Madame Haegoong’ is introduced, who is a shaman that Soo-jin’s mother suggests, provoking mystery about her intentions alongside her husband ‘Yoon Kyung Ho’ who provides ‘Soo-in with comfort and medicine.
On the other hand, Yu is also careful not to depict a generic portrait of encounters between a sleepwalker and his endangered child. However, for the most part, ‘Sleep’ focuses on the more nuanced, parallel realities that constantly challenge Soo-jin and Hyun-su. This type of movie is tricky because the audience should want to follow both characters as they adventure and must come to the unfortunate conclusion that they have opposing goals. Yu is successful by making the couple the center of the plot while keeping them at the heart of the horror.
Last but not least, Yu illustrates an equal balance in his depictions of ‘Soo-Jung’ a split-personality co-lead character who is grounded despite her unrelenting paranoia and terrified in such a way that her worries seem more than just the motherly stereotypes associated with the horror genre.
Jung does fine here, as does her screen partner, but Soo-Jung beats them all in the small detail where Yu highlights her fears of losing her husband. This is one thing to argue that Soo-jung is determined to stay with Hyun-su at any cost. It is a whole other thing to construct, even in broad strokes, the picture of an overwhelmed married woman through subtle yet full conversations with her mother, her spouse, her neighbor, etc.
Lee’s fans remain optimistic even with the expectations attached to his character as one of Lee’s last roles is Sleep and that Sleep will deliver. While it is a rather nuanced performance, Lee portrays the aspects of Sleep exceptionally well and proves that he is not only an overpowering leading actor, but a kind and selfless screen actor as well. The same applies to Yu’s movie as everything seems to be put together perfectly, especially the age-defying nightmare scenes with Miss Haegoong which do not go as far as to be too intense or out of place. Instead of a typical final battle that ends many supernatural stories, Sleep ends rather surprisingly, with an emotional release of sleep because it was the perfect amount of tension all by itself. While Hyun-su has numerous complaints to get off her chest, Soo-jung on the other hand can sink to the level of his wife, so it all balances out perfectly.
What I look forward to is how Yu will follow his vision after ‘Why Did You Kill Me?’. Most importantly, I appreciate that ‘Sleep’ unique show comes from Yu’s subtle yet personal sympathy for both Soo-jin and Hyun-su characters who still have undying roles in each other’s lives as they grow apart. ‘Sleep’ is not a perfect fit in the sense that it does not capture its audience with a neat or confusing narrative explanation of what marriage or new parent life must or must not be. Yamamura Yu is careful to allow where he needs to keep ‘Sleep’ subtle and charming.
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