Chasing Sleep (2000) User Reviews

Probably better if you haven't seen "Lost Highway" before

[Topher-26 · 7/10 · 4 February 2003]

This is a pretty good thriller. Better than I expected. However, ahem... you can't help but see the director's influences... I mean, David Lynch's "Lost Highway" (the punch in the face waking the protagonist from his daze, the way he vanishes into dark hallways, and many more details...), Christopher Nolan's "Following"(not for the structure of the story but more for the direction, dialogues, etc.) and occasionally Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining" (especially the bathtub creature episode).

Despite the gathering of borrowed imagery, this film still develops an obvious personal style and a precise direction. All in all, a very good first film owing also a lot to Jeff Daniels's performance. Hopefully, the next one will be less obviously influenced.

Yet another interpretation

[eniac · 5/10 · 24 May 2003]

*** Spoilers ***

Chasing Sleep is one of those movies becoming very subjective for every viewer. Here are some of the questions that come to mind:

1. How many characters are real people in the movie? - Are the cops real? - Is the college girl real? - Are the neighbors real? At all times? - Is the pill prescribing doctor real? - How bout the worried friend or adulterer?

2. Where is the wife? - Did she leave the insomniac for the gym teacher? - Is she buried in the woods? - Was she disassembled and stuffed in the plumbing? - Maybe she never existed in the first place?

What are our clues?

• We immediately start with an insomniac that may be sleep starved beyond imagination. See the movie "Insomniac" with Al Pacino and Robin Williams.

• Because of the character's sleep-starved state, hallucinations run rampant. The first obvious clue is the phone call from the detective stating that the wife was found dead in the woods; it is revealed that the vivid phone call never took place. We now have an opportunity to place the character's mental condition to that of the character in "A Beautiful Mind."

• Implausibility of supporting characters

* Based on clues, routine detective work would have focused on the husband early, presenting a search warrant that would have broken the chain of suspicious activities. Therefore, we conclude that the detective was an hallucination. As well, the 911 voice was unlike any 911 operator you would ever encounter. Which in turn would make the entire missing person report an hallucination. Which in turn makes the doctor fictional.

* The college girl. The odds are quite opposed to this reality. We know that the character may have been a reader of Hustler magazine, concluding his state of fantasy. Supporting this was the image of the neighbors lovemaking, also implausible. Maybe this supporting character was designed as a retaliation against his wife, returning adultery for adultery.

I think we get the picture, though not all questions are answered.

I see this movie as follows:

* The character has a REAL wife who is having an affair with another man. He cannot deal with the reality of losing his wife to another man. No doubt, he found the diary revealing how his wife really feels about him.

* He loses his mind and kills his wife, disposing her in the house plumbing.

* This depravity escalates into a state of insomnia, which in turn causes severe mental illness, spurred on by immense guilt.

* In this state of mental illness, the man is haunted by ghosts in his imagination. He tries to deny reality of what he did, yet all the more being tormented and confronted by his hideous deed.

* Most, or all, supporting characters are hallucinations, much like depicted in "A Beautiful Mind," except these hallucinations have a mission to expose a murderous mind.

* Ed Saxon finally realizes his depravity and is overwhelmed, totally disabled, by his guilt.

* Sooner or later, the real cops will come and arrest the character, charging him with the brutal murder of his wife.

Yet another interpretation

I give the movie a 6.5 out of 10 for my interpretation, and 4 out of 10 if the characters are not hallucinations.

The horror of defective plumbing (Possible spoilers)

[z-8 · 7/10 · 24 September 2003]

IMHO, I think a lot of people have missed the point to this movie. What it's really about is how much trouble you can get in if you don't take care of your plumbing properly. Remember that Eve comments in her diary that Ed has been acting strangely for quite a while - this is clearly due to the unbearable burden of his plumbing problems which he is not able to handle, and which eventually drive him crazy. The murder of his wife, her unborn child, all the hallucinations, and finally the attempted suicide with all those pills - all because he didn't consult a licensed plumber in time. And on one level, of course, Ed knows this, and it is his tremendous guilt at not taking proper care of his pipes that drives him over the edge. He even anthropomorphizes his plumbing, resulting in all that blood pouring out of everywhere. (This analysis may even give one reason to reevaluate what's really happening in "The Shining".) Never have I seen a movie that so effectively drives home the importance of good plumbing maintenance.

This movie should be a warning to us all.

Excellent movie, something refreshing!

[skup · 7 August 2002]

I was astonished. It has been a really long time since I've seen a movie that good. Everything here works like magic. I mean, the screenplay, the actors, the moods, the dialogues and most of all, the cinematography are all astonishing. This is a REAL movie and I really can't understand why my friend up above (or under) me gave it a poor review. This is the kind of cinema that reconciles me with Americain films. I've always loved Hollywood, but they have gone too far. This one is different. No big budget, no big Hollywood machine, just plain and simple movie making, and it works. Chasing Sleep is a really good movie, don't pass on the opportunity to see it. I don't think everyone will enjoy it, it's not an action movie or a comedy, but please, but open minded. This one is worth the 90 minutes your ass is on the couch!

Mind-bender with dud ending.

[gridoon · 7/10 · 17 April 2004]

Wouldn't this be a better world if today's talented thriller-makers knew how to end their films as well as they know how to start them and keep them going? Most of the time you'll be thinking "where has this movie been hiding all these years?", but at the end you'll almost be sorry that you invested the time to watch it in the first place. There is an undeniable mastery in the way Walker directs: first he grounds the film in reality, then he allows it to go on bizarre trips into the surreal, and all the time he moves the camera gracefully through the limited sets. Then comes the "say what?", non-explanatory ending, and it all goes to pieces. (**1/2)

beautiful weird flick

[trashgang · 7/10 · 6 March 2011]

I found this for me unknown flick at a sell-out of a rental shop. Somehow it attracted me and let me say this, I didn't regret it. The main lead and for most part in visual is Jeff Daniels. He already had a lot of movies but none of them was made for me. It was with a bit of fear that I plugged it in just to see an average thriller or maybe a horror. Let me tell you it's not average. It's a superb performance by Daniels. Chasing Sleep was also the work of Michael Walker writer and director. And being his first full feature well he's someone to look forward to. But 10 years later he's still hasn't made another flick, well, one in post-production...The movie isn't really made for everybody. It's a slow story but every minute works. You can guess what's going on but again, slowly the story evolves. And the camera work is also slowly, wide-angle slowly zooming in. Some parts did remind me of David Lynch. The weirdness of the story. Every actor is so believable. The fragility of Sadie (Emily Bergl). I really enjoyed it from the first second until the end credits. You are really into it from the beginning. I wasn't 'chasing sleep' while watching it.

Seven lessons and a hint

[richard_sleboe · 7/10 · 2 April 2008]

If you can't sleep, you might as well watch a movie. If you make that movie "Chasing Sleep", you might even learn a thing a thing or two: (1) Don't skip class. Especially not if you're the professor. It'll be held against you. (2) Don't pick up the phone. Chances are it'll be trouble. (3) Don't go to the basement. Or the bathroom. There be demons. (4) Get the plumbing fixed before it's too late. And whatever it is, don't just flush it down. It's gonna come back up. (5) Don't trust pretty strangers who bring you soup. They have ulterior motives. And don't pretend we didn't warn you. (6) Don't trust your friends. They're not your friends. (7) Don't trust yourself. You're unreliable. - Finally, and most importantly, don't watch this movie alone at home at night.

Ahhh! To sleep,perchance to nightmare...

[LilsZoo2 · 4/10 · 22 November 2001]

Married Professor(Jeff Daniels) awakes from the only sleep we see, to find his wife missing. Only thing is, he's missing time, too. He's been severely sleep deprived before we even enter the scene and the wreckage that's been left behind is all we have to follow. It's an excruciating journey into a mind unraveling from a crime, too unbelievable and too horrific to be possible. The film also makes good comment on a Society so pill-laden, that the use of psycho-tropic drugs is common place and is used to deal with our day to day existence rather than with our real emotional selves. Our Professor, who, never leaves his downtrodden, filthy household is a representation of the stultifying damage that can occur during severe depression. And that the fragile thing that keeps us all connected, can be damaged, even if by only one other, in deep despair.

Real or Imaginary?

[TheLobotomyKid · 8/10 · 24 January 2005]

This is a great example of a movie that doesn't conform to Hollywood conventions. It is essentially about a man who awakes to realise his wife hasn't come home from work the day before, and what happens to him during the day while he waits for the police. The movie never leaves the man's house, apart from a very short scene in a hospital, and contains no soundtrack. By doing this it creates more tension than if it had a typical Hollywood soundtrack, made up of the usual scary music and screeching sounds. Also as the house begins to fall apart, it becomes more and more claustrophobic. The fact that the storyline is fluid and ambiguous could infuriate or bore some people, however it is chilling without resulting to blood or gore, and never even gives any real answers. Though nowhere near as good, it resembles a David Lynch movie, in that it challenges conventions of plot, and remains ambiguous throughout. Don't watch for any out and out shocks, but it is a movie that will grow on you, and one that you'll still be thinking about later.

ATTEN: MUST HAVE 140 IQ TO LIKE FILM

[movieman-138 · 7/10 · 22 August 2002]

This film is dark , disturbing and sublimely werid. The qualities I mentioned is what I look for in a film. EXCEPT, like EVERY lynch film it leaves ALOT out of the story. Like what really happened? I usually cannot make out films like this. Although reading one very helpful review on this site I have found many hints that were dropped in the film. This is a great film but only IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND IT! After finishing the film , I thought to myself, this film had the potential of a MEMENTO but was just too dam vague.(ex. mulholland drive)If your reading this review you have probably already have seen the movie and are looking for answers, check all the reviews im not giving away the answers cause there already on the site. Very good film BUT WILL IRRITATE THE HELL OUT OF PEOPLE WITH BELOW GENUIS IQ'S. And that is the sad truth 7/10 .

"Chasing Sleep" A Real Pill *1/2

[edwagreen · 5/10 · 1 April 2006]

Too bad that Jeff Daniels, an excellent actor, can't get better parts. He showed so much promise as Shirley MacLaine's son-in-law in "Terms of Endearment." Come on, Hollywood. You can do better than this for Mr. Daniels.

Daniels is a college professor here who finds that his wife, a music teacher, is missing. He alternately hallucinates due to a lack of sleep. He even dreams that his wife has been found dead. Maybe, this is wishful thinking on his part.

We discover that the Mrs. has been having an affair with a gym teacher in her school and is pregnant. To add to the mayhem, a student, named Sadie Crumb, comes over to find out why the college professor hasn't been showing up to class. When Daniels doesn't show up for 2 days, his response to the college secretary, calling to tell him that the dean wants to see him, is memorable.

What should the police believe when they find Sadie's bloody clothing on the scene? Incidentally, she had a nosebleed while at the professor's house.

Daniels spends most of the time in this movie in the toilet wiping away blood and possible body parts. This is mainly where the script should have placed as well.

simply brilliant

[Jonas Kyratzes · 10/10 · 10 February 2003]

Chasing Sleep is one of the best movies I've seen lately. Its creepy, disturbing atmosphere is as good as anything David Lynch has ever done. The lighting and camerawork are beyond incredible. Very slow, well-paced, gentle on the eyes, and still disturbing and powerful. The acting is subtle and very convincing. I wish Jeff Daniels would get more roles like this one. He's a great actor. The other actors in this movie are good, too. The script is fascinating and definitely makes you think, without using any tired plot devices and clichés.

One thing that I particularly liked about the movie is that it never gets boring, not even for a second. This is quite rare, especially in a movie that is so slow.

10/10

psychological babble ...

[m_madhu · 7/10 · 2 June 2002]

chasing sleep is a deftly made albeit extremely slow paced movie about an insomniac coming to grips with his wife's infidelity and consequent disappearance. jeff bridges as college professor ed saxon portrays a grim picture in this psychological drama. his meagre touch with the outside world gets slimmer as the thread of reality frays and he is faced with possible mental & psychological illnesses. none of these are blatantly put across, they are all subtly interwoven in the plot and the characters' contacts with the detective, the lonely student, and the support group adviser.

it is perhaps a more ambiguous movie than most people will be comfortable with, but fans of ambiguous themes which provide a lot of scope for introspection, deeper analysis and understanding of characters and themes will enjoy this psychologically deft movie.

the director uses various themes like repeated interruptions through the phone and the door-bell to accentuate the character's plight, in dealing with his faulty drainage and plumbing at home. but what caused it? is everything what it seems? is the professor an ordinary man suffering from anxiety or is there more to him? ... questions not all of which are answered. this movie is worth the effort for those who like heavy movies.

points docked for slow pace and absolute lack of accessibility for the average viewer.

a deft 8!

if only i'd been warned, i wouldn't be writing this...

[smirnoff-2 · 3/10 · 22 March 2001]

oh boy, what a bore! I mean when i go to the movie (which is quite often) and especially within the frame of a fantastic films festival i'll do my best to have a good time, i'll bury my expectations and critic sense as deep as i can. But this movie was really sooooo slow. The director fails to create an atmosphere, despite heavy use of the same gimmicks (tired look of the main character, phone or door bell ringing all the time, water dripping and medications). We did not feel concerned or interested in the story, two gory moments are out of place and seem grotesque rather than horrible, dialogs are flat, the main character is supposed to be some kind of a would-be poet but the lack of interest of his reflexions is only matched by the adolescent prose of his wife in her diary. Even the sexy scene is out of place and make us feel sorry for the actors. And then nothing happens and frankly who cares if he killed his wife or not. I suppose it won't get distributed in Europe anyway...

Abstract but logical

[kubrickx · 16 January 2002]

Chasing Sleep is more of an artistic endeavour through symbolism rather than a straightforward story. The average audience would find this film pointless and boring, though if one were to be open minded to its abstract ideas, they would find a deeply disturbing and interesting exploration into a character, and the study there of. The symbolic names add to the themes: George SIMIAN - relating to the primitive actions which the character embarks in, like an ape. Ed SAXON - relating to the evolved society, as in the character resorting to much less physical action.

Statments of societal conflicts are more represented than spoonfed to the audience. Though Ed is more advanced in his projection of self, he resorts to the advancements of man (the pills) to drown his worries, due to his wife's infidelities. The surreal scenes are paramount to tuning the audience in on the character's paranoia and past actions.

The sparse dialogue is often Kubrickian, and the dark imagery is somewhat Lynchian, while the story is quite Poe-esque (it seems to borrow a bit from The Tell Tale Heart). The slow disintigration of the house represents the character's disintigration of mind, his paranoia and conscience are eating away at him, because he is not a murderer or malicious man. But it also works on different levels where as it hints at the idea that his wife was murdered in the house itself and buried inside the walls - which also represents the burying of these memories in Ed's mind. If one would pay close attention to every action in the film, one would be able to decipher the actual story unveiling in reality while the character is drenched in his surreal world.

This film is abstract, and subjective in it's intention to involve the audience more than entertain. Perhaps some character's only exist in Ed's mind. It is for the audience to decide. While a film maker has the creative freedom to project their own ideas into something, they also must give enough for the audience to use their own imagination to create what happens according to them. Chasing Sleep gives the audience the power to use (like reading a book) rather than just be lost in some spoonfeeding frenzy.

Odd...

[spastik_kitty · 6/10 · 3 December 2001]

When I sat down to watch this, I was going blind. When it started, I figured the dialect sported either a low budget c movie, or an unusual movie. It seemed rather slow and confusing (but not in the part of not being able to follow it). I felt the way it was written helps to the atmosphere of this movie, the little things that happen, the way they talk, how some things didn't mesh or flow. It adds to the oddness of this film. It's not Lynch strange, there is a plot to follow. I think if you enjoy films that aren't "normal" then give this a gander. It's unique, but not in a good or bad way.

>^..^<

The fun's in the ride...not the destination.

[=G= · 6/10 · 30 October 2001]

"Chasing Sleep" is a disjointed, dark, off kilter claustrophobic narrative about the mental and emotional deterioration of an insomniac whose wife is suspiciously among the missing. The film, which asks more questions than it answers, is assembled like a jig-saw puzzle with many bizarre pieces which don't seem to fit. The puzzle is never completed making for a creepy ride with an unsatisfying destination. For those who can go with it, the film will be an unnerving and disturbing Daniels tour-de-force. Those who can't make the buy-in will wonder why Daniels doesn't just call Roto-Rooter.

Chasing What? -- ***slight spoiler***

[calm · 7/10 · 4 April 2003]

This was definitely a weird movie. It leaves too much to the imagination. A college professor played by Jeff Daniels (an excellent actor) comes home to find his cheating wife missing. Somewhere in this flick, I began to think the professor may have killed his wife because of all the finger business, which was unrealistic. I wasn't sure if his pill popping, grief, or obsessions with his wife was causing hallucinations, or if his sleep deprivation was causing him to imagine things, or are we supposed to believe that fingers walk around without a body attached.

Whatever the case, this movie left many questions unanswered. Since the film is called `Chasing Sleep', maybe we are not suppose to know who killed his wife or if she is really dead. Maybe it's about what can happen to the mind without sleep.

The movie was well cast, directed and I was not bored. I was, however waiting for answers that never came. I'd call this an unsolved mystery.

Very disappointed in this movie.

[Rubywife · 1/10 · 21 October 2001]

This movie was weird, twisted, and made little sense. Some scenes were too disturbing to even watch. The ending did not reveal any truths to me, only more mystery as to what on earth really happened. The young college girl was a pointless part of the story that did not even begin to seem like a subplot.

Great performance by Jeff Daniels in moody psycho-thriller.

[Hjalte · 8/10 · 24 February 2002]

Jeff Daniels stars as a University Professor who wakes up early one morning alone in bed. His wife hasn't come home from work the previous day and he is of course very worried. As time passes the tension rises and one begins to suspect that the professor knows more than he tells the police - or maybe he just doesn't remember what has happened. The movie is extremely slow moving which adds to the husbands sense of despair as his world comes crashing down. This is very nicely visualized in the professors house, where big holes are opening up in the ceilings and the walls with water dripping out and creates a feeling of a man slowly drowning. It may not be an easy film to like but it appealed strongly to me and Daniels' performance is nothing short of breathtaking. I gave it an 8.

A man's deterioration through his eyes

[Armin_Nikkhah_Shirazi · 7/10 · 2 April 2022]

CHASING SLEEP opens with a shot of a large hole in a bedroom ceiling, as reflected in a bucket of water which collects water dripping from it. This opening shot sets the unconventional and symbol-laden tone for the entire film.

A man wakes up in that bedroom to find that his wife is not lying next to him, as he presumably expected. After picking up the morning newspaper from the front door (even though it is night), he calls her friend to inquire whether she is there, telling her that he had cooked dinner for his wife and had been expecting her to come home after work. The discrepancy between this, seemingly told in all sincerity, and what the audience just witnessed is the first hint that we are dealing with an unreliable narrator.

As the mystery of his wife's disappearance deepens, the man, seemingly unable to go to sleep, deteriorates both mentally and physically, and this deterioration is paralleled by that of his house and especially the leakage of water in it.

He gets a lot of phone calls and visits from various people, but never leaves his house. Further, it becomes gradually evident that at least some of these events are actually hallucinations, and that he may have a hole in his memory which leaks tiny inklings of something sinister, quite analogous to the ceiling hole.

The movie ends on a very clever note, using a double-entendre to show that the source of his deterioration is a sense of guilt over something about which he is in denial.

CHASING SLEEP is well-crafted: the imagery, performances and even the sweet music ('Andante Soave' by Fanny Mendelssohn) which due to the context takes on a creepy subtext, all contribute to this. The influence of certain works (see list below) is noticeable but not too much.

The film treads the limits of indulgence, but never crosses them. Still, mainstream audiences may find it too weird, and the persistent ambiguity in the face of an increasingly apprehensive atmosphere which culminates in a grotesque sequence may turn some people off.

The ideal audience for this consists of those who look for something that is unsettling and different, yet well-made.

Some excellent movies with similar elements:

1. THE MACHINIST (2004)

2. REPULSION (1965)

3. LOST HIGHWAY(1997)

SLEEP will be CHASING YOU!

[lghmgrfran · 2/10 · 30 January 2002]

If you have insomnia and are wary about taking prescription medications, then this CLUNKER of film should do the trick! I rented this on the strength of imdb comments....I should know better when it comes to "psych thrillers" and "horror genres" that my taste doesnt reflect 3/4 of the population. I have no problem when a movie contains an ambiguous ending...BUT...when a director leaves the viewer without even THAT MUCH, the film then becomes a "so whats the point of the whole DAMN THING ANYWAY? I dont buy into the "art house" symbolism crowd either. The acting is okay, the directing is okay, but there isnt enough of a STORY, other than, did he or didnt he?....and if thats all the director was going for...then again I ask...SO WHAT? who CARES?.....and though I have no problems with sex scenes in a movie(as long as there is a reason for it) what was the point of this film to have a minor one....except to "just film a sex scene"...yeah, really original...If you like a story that goes ABSOLUTLEY NOWHERE, then CHASING SLEEP is for you....

It's a little hard to sit through because it's supposed to be.

[pmoe · 10/10 · 3 April 2001]

It's a little hard to sit through because it's supposed to be. Stilted editing, a sparse sound track, dreamy plot, prescription drug abuse, creepy and heavy-handed symbols keep the viewer in an uncomfortable place right through to the end, when wonderfully horrible scenes finally and completely rip open the fabric of what was the film's debatable reality.

Chasing Sleep adds star power and production value to the style of film making Walker introduced with his 1995 indie short film, "Pie Eater" which ended with a shagged-out diabetic fat lady making love to a pie headed man in a tuxedo (no joke).

Kafka-esque with a sick sense of humor, "Chasing Sleep" is a pretty admirable freshman feature from Walker. Jeff Daniels is excellent as an unshaven English professor losing touch with reality. Emily Bergl offers some decent acting and skin.

All in all, pleasantly disconcerting. I'd sit through more if I had the chance.

Excellent acting, nice creepy camera work, mediocre story

[imdb2-5 · 7/10 · 7 July 2017]

I am giving this film a very weak 7. The high marks come solely for the ability to move this film along as it heads toward its obvious conclusion. Without saying more than this as a "spoiler" - it's probably much better if you haven't seen the much better films "Lost Highway" made just 3 years before this film and "The Machinist" which came out just 4 years later.

The real problem with this film is that, as opposed to the other 2, this is mostly a creepy story line that doesn't really provide the reveal of introspective thought that the others do. You don't really know much about Jeff Daniels' character other than the bare minimum, which isn't really the point of this story. It's about him. And yet the film, which features him on screen virtually 95% of the time, doesn't provide a whole lot.

There are some strange displays of character behavior that are not in line with what one would expect. Daniels' character does not explain the nature of his issue to his employer and why he is staying home. Why not? Didn't sell me on it. The rest was mostly just filler to pass time until the reveal ending.

Jeff Daniels was fantastic. The supporting cast was very good even though they weren't given the best of direction with an intent on being slightly creepy for the sake of it, e.g. people showing up too soon or quickly.

And in spite of all the great work, this film goes nowhere, explores nothing and is just 2 hours of mood and creep. And Lynch did it much better if you're looking for just story and Bale did it much better if you're looking for something introspective and much more clever.

I'd give this a 6 but it will entertain... until you hit the abrupt, seemingly amateurish ending.

2 hours I could have dedicated to curing herpetologic claustrophobia

[Angus-8 · 3/10 · 23 January 2010]

Just one meaningless, inscrutable scene after another. I was quite confident that it would all come together in the end, which is why I was looking forward to its conclusion. There are several ways to interpret everything that was seen (almost none of which may have actually happened) but I wasn't able to come up with anything harmonious. So my consternation spiked when all I saw was a dark hole, and the credits rolled.

The main character has a lot of episodes which are clearly delusions, but then there are many rational-looking scenes some of which are contradicted by other rational-looking scenes.

Anyone who likes this movie cannot care one toss about the plot, since in the end, the only thing we can be sure of is that Jeff Daniels thinks therefore he is.