Sleeping Beauty (2011 film)
Encyclopedia
Sleeping Beauty is a 2011 Australian erotic drama film written and directed by Julia Leigh
. It was her debut as a director. It stars Emily Browning
as Lucy, a young university student who performs a special type of erotic service.
. In February 2010, it was announced that Emily Browning would play the lead role. Mia Wasikowska
was originally cast as Lucy but dropped out in favour of playing the title role in the acclaimed version of Jane Eyre
.
. The film premiered at the festival on 12 May as the first competition entry to be screened. In a review from the festival, Peter Bradshaw
of The Guardian
called the film "Technically elegant with vehemence and control ... Emily Browning gives a fierce and powerful performance ... There is force and originality in Leigh's work". David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter
called it "Soporific in every sense", with the reservation: "Cannes audiences tend to be more forgiving in sections geared to emerging talent, like Un Certain Regard
or Directors' Fortnight
. Outside the glare of competition, even this pretentious exercise might have earned some appreciation for its rigorously cold aesthetic".
Other reviewers have been intrigued: "Titillates, terrifies and haunts in equal measure", said Sukhdev Sandu in the UK's The Telegraph. Fionnuala Halligan in Screen International wrote "Browning has gone the distance for her director and together, they have delivered something here that sometimes catches your breath." Salon's Andrew O'Hehir's found it "Gorgeous, opaque and disturbing." James Rocchi in Indiewire was also a fan, saying: "This is, in many ways, the kind of film you only get at a major festival, a hothouse flower, beautiful and delicate and yet surprisingly hardy and potentially toxic."
Critics who were less than impressed included James Berardinelli, of Reelviews, saying that "with an emotional temperature approaching absolute zero, Leigh finds it difficult to accomplish more than present a pastiche of artistic images signifying little." Likewise, Peter Debruge, of Variety
, described the film as frustrating, "more tiresome than anything," and having "a distinctly first-draft feel."
Julia Leigh
Julia Leigh is an Australian novelist, film director and screenwriter.-Early life:Born in 1970 in Sydney, Australia, Leigh is the eldest of three daughters of a doctor and maths teacher. She initially studied law but shifted to writing. For a time she worked at the Australian Society of Authors...
. It was her debut as a director. It stars Emily Browning
Emily Browning
Emily Jane Browning is an Australian film actress and fashion model, known for her roles as Violet Baudelaire in Brad Silberling's 2004 film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, as Anna Ivers in the 2009 film The Uninvited, as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's 2011 action thriller Sucker...
as Lucy, a young university student who performs a special type of erotic service.
Cast
- Emily BrowningEmily BrowningEmily Jane Browning is an Australian film actress and fashion model, known for her roles as Violet Baudelaire in Brad Silberling's 2004 film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, as Anna Ivers in the 2009 film The Uninvited, as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's 2011 action thriller Sucker...
as Lucy - Rachael BlakeRachael BlakeRachael Morelle Blake is an Australian actress.-Early life:Blake was born in Perth. At the age of 18 months, she moved to England with her British parents only to return to Perth at age 11....
as Clara - Ewen LeslieEwen LeslieEwen Leslie is an Australian actor.Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, he started appearing in various TV shows from the age of 12...
as Birdman - Michael DormanMichael DormanMichael Dorman is a New Zealand actor based in Australia, best known for his work on the television series, The Secret Life of Us and his supporting work in such acclaimed films as Suburban Mayhem and West.-Filmography:...
as Cook - Mirrah FoulkesMirrah Foulkes- Film :Foulkes has appeared in several Australian films since 2006, including Spider , Dying Breed , Animal Kingdom and the mysterious drama Sleeping Beauty .- Television :...
as Sophie - Henry NixonHenry NixonHenry Nixon is an Australian actor.Henry Nixon was born in the 1970s at St Margaret's Hospital on Crown Street in the inner-Sydney suburb of Surry Hills...
as Mark
Production
The Sleeping Beauty script made the 2008 Black List of unproduced screenplays grabbing attention in Hollywood. In September 2009, the project was approved for funding from Screen AustraliaScreen Australia
Screen Australia is the Federal Government’s key funding body for the Australian screen production industry. Its functions are to support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable industry....
. In February 2010, it was announced that Emily Browning would play the lead role. Mia Wasikowska
Mia Wasikowska
Mia Wasikowska is an Australian actress. After starting her career in Australian television and film, she first became known to a wider audience following her critically acclaimed work on the HBO television series In Treatment...
was originally cast as Lucy but dropped out in favour of playing the title role in the acclaimed version of Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre (2011 film)
Jane Eyre is a 2011 British romantic drama film directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga and starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. The screenplay is written by Moira Buffini based on the 1847 novel of the same name by Charlotte Brontë...
.
Reception
A trailer was released the same day the film was announced for the main competition of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival2011 Cannes Film Festival
The 64th annual Cannes Film Festival was held from May 11 to May 22, 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition...
. The film premiered at the festival on 12 May as the first competition entry to be screened. In a review from the festival, Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called the film "Technically elegant with vehemence and control ... Emily Browning gives a fierce and powerful performance ... There is force and originality in Leigh's work". David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
called it "Soporific in every sense", with the reservation: "Cannes audiences tend to be more forgiving in sections geared to emerging talent, like Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
or Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight
Directors' Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. The section was created in 1969 after the events of May 1968, in which the Cannes festival was canceled in solidarity with striking workers....
. Outside the glare of competition, even this pretentious exercise might have earned some appreciation for its rigorously cold aesthetic".
Other reviewers have been intrigued: "Titillates, terrifies and haunts in equal measure", said Sukhdev Sandu in the UK's The Telegraph. Fionnuala Halligan in Screen International wrote "Browning has gone the distance for her director and together, they have delivered something here that sometimes catches your breath." Salon's Andrew O'Hehir's found it "Gorgeous, opaque and disturbing." James Rocchi in Indiewire was also a fan, saying: "This is, in many ways, the kind of film you only get at a major festival, a hothouse flower, beautiful and delicate and yet surprisingly hardy and potentially toxic."
Critics who were less than impressed included James Berardinelli, of Reelviews, saying that "with an emotional temperature approaching absolute zero, Leigh finds it difficult to accomplish more than present a pastiche of artistic images signifying little." Likewise, Peter Debruge, of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, described the film as frustrating, "more tiresome than anything," and having "a distinctly first-draft feel."