Unsane is an inspiring film, not in terms of its content — this isn’t Rocky or Teng Bee’s Lee Chong Wei — but in terms of what its director, Steven Soderbergh, manages to accomplish with a smartphone. Soderbergh is a director with a stacked resume comprising of films like Logan Lucky, Magic Mike, and the Ocean’s Trilogy. The fact that he shot the entirety of Unsane using the iPhone 7 Plus is a middle finger to all aspiring filmmakers who have said, “I can’t make a movie because I don’t have the proper equipment” or “of course his movie is better than mine! Look at his badass cameras!” I am guilty as charged.
Here, Soderbergh is telling us to take our stupid excuses, roll it into a ball, lube it up and shove it straight up our asses. Whether it’s an iPhone or an Arri Alexa, the camera is merely a tool. A good filmmaker should be able to use the most modest of tools to tell a good story, which essentially is what filmmaking is about (or should be about). Look, I know this isn’t groundbreaking. Sean Baker (Florida Project) shot Tangerine on an iPhone too. But the idea that filmmaking is something that can be pursued by anyone as long as you have the passion for it never ceases to amaze me.
But making an experimental film on an iPhone doesn’t automatically give it a pass. I harken back to what I mentioned earlier: The only thing that matters is telling a good story. Here, Soderbergh tells an interesting one. Claire Foy plays Sawyer Valentini, a Boston expat who moved to Pennsylvania to pursue her career. Her life revolves around work, no strings attached Tinder Dates and occasionally FaceTiming her mom. The first wtf moment — and believe me, there are many — happens when she brings a guy home to her apartment. They make out, seemingly enjoying themselves, when she suddenly shoves him away and dashes into the bathroom. She breaks down. He’s confused and so are we.
The next day, she Googles something along the lines of ‘stalker support group’. And I’m sitting there thinking, Whaaaat? Am I missing something? The next scene she’s seeing a therapist of sorts. This is where shit hits the fan. One thing leads to another and Sawyer finds herself involuntarily committed to a mental institution.
The beauty of this film is that just like Logan Lucky, it is unabashedly Soderbergh. In other words, it is weird as f**k. From the moment Sawyer gets chucked into the mental institution against her will, it feels like an episode of FX’s “Legion”. You don’t know what’s going on and you keep wondering if the cake you ate for breakfast was baked with Marijuana. Unsane is a trippy thrill ride, one that I’m more than happy to jump on again.
I am not going to reveal any more plot details because half the joy is discovering where Soderbergh is taking you. But let’s just say the mission is simple: Sawyer Valentini has to get out of the asylum. Should she be let out, though? That’s another question. Soderbergh gives us just enough to make us believe that she’s sane of mind and just as much to make us suspect that she’s legitimately cuckoo. As each sequence plays out, you question what’s real and what’s a figment of Claire’s hallucinations — if any. Whatever it is, you’re merely a puppet and Soderbergh has you on a string.
You root for Sawyer because Claire Foy brings the right amount of charm to her character. This film only works if you’re genuinely rooting for Sawyer to escape, regardless of she’s crazy or not. And you do. This is the scariest movie of the year so far. It reminds me of my experience watching “Don’t Breathe”. For the most part, you’re holding your breath, fist clamped tightly; Heart racing; Butthole clenched. This is my kind of horror movie.
But Soderbergh doesn’t want it to be just that. He attempts to make Unsane be more than a character trying to break out of an insane asylum. It’s also a satire. Here, the American Health Institution is a cruel comedy. One of the scenes in the film has one character, Nate, explains that the whole thing is nothing but a money-making scam, mental institutions just lock people up to mint money from insurance companies, “the moment your insurance runs out, you’re cured.” We also have police officers who’re nothing but stooges bought off by these institutions and a lawyer who speaks in long windy sentences that don’t mean shit.
The second half is where the film falters. Soderbergh starts giving us all the answers and most if not all of them are fairly straightforward. Our reactions changes from “WTF” to “Oh okay then.” Are the effects of my marijuana breakfast wearing off? The film still has good thrills but without the curious, satirical nature of the strong first half. In the second half, Unsane devolves into familiar territory. And the final scene in the movie, did we really need that?
Unsane may not be one of Steven Soderberg’s best films, but it highlights exactly why the man shouldn’t retire: Hollywood needs more batshit crazy and he’s the perfect guy for it. If you’re looking for a neat little horror/thriller, check this one out; If you’re an aspiring filmmaker who’s full of shitty excuses, definitely check this one out. But fair warning, if you’re not one who sits on your ass all day watching independent/independent-esque movies, it might take you a minute to get used to the unconventional look of this film.
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