In My Sleep (2010)
1/10
Not very good
14 June 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The premise seems interesting, but the writing, acting, directing and the music track don't meet that expectation.

The plot does not deviate from the premise that the hero is killing (or seriously injuring) people in his sleep. You, the viewer, will be in a remorseless state of doubt the whole time, with the only question being if not him, the who else and how did the find out about some of the incriminating details, but the movie doesn't flirt with any other possibilities, making it increasingly clear, as the movie goes on, that it has to be someone else responsible for the trail of violence. Sorry, long sentence.

The music track goes from suspenseful strings to uplifting incessantly and yes, that's it, sometimes leading to odd what-the-what moments for the mood.

The emotional close-ups linger for just a tad too long and seem too forced. The camera angles are frequently too close or too unsteady for a close-up. The family pictures that are 20 years old look like they are a couple of weeks old, which wouldn't be bad except that they are featured in close-ups. The birthday party scene just seems awkward from end-to-end. Where are his buddies? Guys like that live for their buddies. The dialog at the party seems like it was contrived by someone with very little experience and with a very low standard for cleverness or intrigue. And how many parties have you been to where two guys sitting in the middle of it are having a hushed conversation that isn't difficult because of all the other conversations and/or music? The final scene with Marcus in the sand, father walking into the waves at sunset, and seagull flapping away seemed strangely artsy and incongruous with other messages in the movie-- really, he loved his cheating father? The father is now not going to haunt him any more and this is how you get that? Yikes.

On the plus side, the casting seemed pretty solid. I wish I had more nice things to say about this movie.
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