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Review: The Perfect Sleep
by Scott Weinberg Mar 12th 2009
... Tailor-made for open-minded noir buffs who wouldn't mind seeing the beloved genre blended up with a dose of martial arts mayhem and just a touch of supernatural strangeness, Jeremy Alter's The Perfect Sleep takes a little while to warm up to. We open with whom we assume is our grizzled hero, just as he's about to get beaten up by a gang of wise-ass henchmen. Then we jump straight back into a slightly convoluted flashback structure in which all the essential rules and players are introduced before we end up back at square one.
... I could waste this paragraph explaining the densely-layered plot threads, the amusingly pulpy tough-guy banter, or Alter's unquestionable gift for throwing shadows and light together, but The Perfect Sleep is a fine little indie concoction that's best left for the viewer to sift through. [Anton] Pardoe does a great job of delivering even the pulpiest of dialog, and the supporting cast is particularly excellent: Michael Pare pops up as a violent cop, and adds a lot to the proceedings when he does, plus we're treated to a wonderfully sick performance by Tony Amendola as a character best described as "Dr. Hitman." Amendola steals every scene he's in and left me wanting more of this bizarre lunatic.
.... [ The Perfect Sleep opens on 3/13 in Los Angeles, with other markets to follow in a week or two. It looks like Magnolia plans to release it when DVD time rolls around, so that's good news for everyone. And here's a link to the film's official site. ]
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The Perfect Sleep stars include Roselyn Sanchez, Patrick Bauchau, Tony Amendola, Cameron Daddo, Michael Paré and Anton Pardoe.
In a timeless city, a man with no name returns to the violent, brutal domain of assassins he left ten years before – back when they dubbed him The Mad Monk for his disregard for his own life and his intense devotion to one woman, Porphyria; a beautiful, luminescent woman; the girl he grew up with; the love of his life; the one thing he has ever wanted; the one thing he can never have.
There is no discernible reason for him to come back to this ruthless city, save one. She still lives here, she is in danger, and he – a man gifted in the art of killing – may be the only one who can save her. Waiting for him are deadly men who would like nothing more than to see him die a painful death. Standing at their forefront is the formidable Nikolai, the man who raised him and just might be his father.
To protect Porphyria, this unnamed man will return to a life of torment and torture. He will face off against the father figure he turned his back on so many years ago. He will revisit this existence full of people imprisoned by their desire, their history, and their very blood; a world where the only thing keeping you from happiness is yourself, the world of The Perfect Sleep.
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