Review of Chasing Sleep

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!