“I wanted to tell a story that explores what a human is capable of when pushed to the brink.” – John Farrelly – Director.
John Farrelly’s THE SLEEP EXPERIMENT is a ride of human tenacity and broken wills. Farrelly takes us on a ride that anchors us within a gritty and confined world that torments the human mind.
We’re led by two detectives investigating the ethics of experiments happening at a classified research facility, Porton Down. Kerrisk’s sincerity as Christopher gives a multi-layered facet that unevens the ground built for us as an audience. He genuinely believes these experiments are going to uncover results that will change things. Even the one in question, The Sleep Experiment is given undertones of morality by Kerrisk that unsettle us and make us question human rights against the backdrop of the world we live in now. The team have managed to take the Cold War era and push it into now, to make us wonder what experiments could be under the belt of governments all over the world. The design is hyper-realistic but has an abstract edge. There are some astonishing shots where test subjects are covered which read like a Matisse painting, giving us a simultaneously relieving and unnerving distance from the subjects. This work made the descent into madness and the severity of the experiments gut-wrenching.
With soundscapes from Ally Donald, the flow is relentless. They never give us a break and this film can – if you should wish – send you into a trance which makes you question our entire society. Director Farrelly is uncompromising and punchy in questioning what we are capable of when sent over the edge and at what cost. For what payoffs or results? There is a deep reverb of attention to humanity from the whole team, which makes the environment and the effects on the test subjects all the more devastating. It rings of a team and director at the helm who understand their harsh material implicitly, there must be deep vulnerability to make it pop. Backed up by Kerrisk, Capel and Murphy, this vulnerability amidst the madness is earth-shattering.
As beautiful as it is unnerving, The Sleep Experiment pushes everyone to their limits, and the whole cast rises to the occasion with astonishing performances from all.
THE SLEEP EXPERIMENT IS AVAILABLE TO RENT/BUY ON VOD (USA)
CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO WATCH THE SLEEP EXPERIMENT
