When it's snowing in Indiana only a few days after the first day of spring and you're stuck inside for the majority of the day, you tend to think you're going insane -- or maybe unsane? After a 20-minute drive to the movie theater just a few miles down the road, I ventured into the building ready to see the next big-hit adventure film, "Tomb Raider." Before we purchased the tickets and slumped into the theater seats with an over-sized, "regular" popcorn and drink, my boyfriend and I decided to see a thriller movie...at four o'clock in the afternoon. That's when "Unsane" went on our radar. I didn't think it would be any good -- I mostly expected to get a good laugh or two from the ridiculously "scary" tactics and fake screams it seemed to be from the trailer.
The film stars "The Crown" lead, Claire Foy, who plays Sawyer Valentini, a hard-working woman with a boring office job and a hidden backstory. The film is immediately different -- the viewer watches Sawyer's life unveil from a "hidden-camera" lens of eerie shots and too-close zooms. The footage is unsettling, to say the least. I couldn't put a finger on the weird camera angles.
Sawyer accidentally admits herself into a mental hospital, a rehab of sorts, after she meets with a counselor about her anxiety. Note to self: never sign an agreement without reading the whole thing. You follow Sawyer through her week-long stay at the hospital, and I felt as if I was struggling myself to get out of there -- to run away. Unfortunately, Sawyer cannot leave. She is stuck there, held by an insurance scheme, without any way of relieving herself until she is "mentally fit" and safe.
This is when everything gets weird -- you're not sure if Sawyer is actually crazy or if the hospital is making her insane. Eventually, the audience learns of Sawyer's stalker (it's your worst nightmare) who followers her everywhere she goes. She moved across states to get away from him, but he still finds her at this mental hospital. Long story short, her attacks against him only hurt her. She stays in the hospital for longer and makes a few enemies along the way.
Throughout the film, I found myself thinking, "What if I have a stalker?" and "What if I go crazy like her?" It's amazing what a movie can do to your mind.
After an hour or so of intense concentration and a few scared gasps, the ending credits scrolled down the screen. "Unsane" was over, and I felt a little insane myself. Claire Foy transforms herself into a bold and intimidating character, unlike the queen she portrays in "The Crown." We talked about stalkers and mental sanity long after the film ended, and I found myself looking at other people -- hyper-aware of my surroundings and looking for my "stalker."
A silly-looking film turned out to be one of my favorite thriller/horror films of the year (so far). I encourage other movie-lovers to watch this film, think a little about your sanity and question everything you knew about life in the spans of 1 hour and 38 minutes. Final words? WAY better than "Tomb Raider."
