No. 46 State Like Sleep (2018) 82 of 100

 

A Euro murder mystery now that doesn’t deliver any twists or interesting characters. It was actually a bit of a chore to see this one to the end because even though it looked nice and had an attractive cast, it just didn’t have any substance.

The film opens with a man being shot twice in the head. The camera angles aren’t conclusive but the death is recorded by the police as a s*icide. It turns out the dead man is an up and coming Belgian actor who has just accepted a role in a high profile TV show.

The TV news bulletins, which serve mainly as exposition, tells us that the actor had been seen out with a mysterious woman and had assaulted a paparazzi who took the incriminating photos.

His estranged wife returns to their apartment in the company of her own brash American mother. The flat is in a state, so much so that the mother has a stroke and although she initially recovers she soon has a second and ends up in intensive care.

The wife finds a couple of problems with the open and shut investigation into the apparent s*icide and she beings her own investigation. The classic old clue of a match-book leads her to a secret nightclub run by a former friend who isn’t shy on handing out the drugs. The dead man’s mother also shows up pleading poverty and advising that a half million Euro withdrawal was made from the dead man’s accounts shortly before he died.

Our heroine, Katherine, also has the distraction of a friendly neighbour Edward who she rebuffs at first but with who she later starts an affair. Who is after what? and will the locker key and other standard clues lead to a sinister conspiracy or is the truth a lot more prosaic?

I didn’t like this film much. It was thin on plot and the 100 minute run time felt twice as long. The detection angle was weak with a familiar trail of breadcrumb clues and the majority of characters clearly weren't speaking English as their first language which made a lot of the conversations jarring and unnatural.

There were some strange scenes such as a one night stand asking Katherine to take a bath and then getting off on himself as he washed her hair. Strangely at no point did she run off screaming.

Shannon was the standout performer but he had little to do as the nice neighbour come love interest. He came across as nice and charming and I was glad his persistence was rewarded.

The outcome of the film did explain the mystery that Katherine investigated, but the outcome was more ‘so what’ than ‘Oh my God!’ I can see the argument that sometimes things are as they seem, as seemingly pivotal clues, such as a s*icide victim taking two bullets, can be explained away. The conclusion was unsatisfying but that could also be said for the whole enterprise.

When is Shannon-On? - 10.58

Outcome? Embarking on a new (problematic) relationship

Film 2/5

Shannon Stars 3.5/5