While You Sleep (2011)

Spanish psychological thriller:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1437358/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...HaFD6thS0&NR=1

An interesting movie. Not sure if I'd recommend it or not.

The first half is pure Hitchcock. Great tension, slow build, getting inside the protagonist's head. Everything unfolds gradually. Very exciting and high quality. Some scenes are actually creepy. Huge potential.

But then the second half starts (there's no formal break, but you can feel the shift) and

SPOILERS!!!

It turns into American Psycho in Spain. It starts minimal and intriguing, but ends up unbelievable and senseless. Like the whole premise was just built around the final scene. That second half ruined it for me. Character behavior is unrealistic. Tension drops hard. Just stupid stuff that's hard to ignore. (And someone here recently started a thread about how "stupid" American movies are).
In American Psycho, his constant stalling is part of the point. It makes sense. But the transition here is so forced. It's hard to believe they even filmed this. In the first part, you're guessing what happens next. After that, it becomes too predictable. Definitely annoying.
Plus, leaving the ending open regarding his mother just feels like unnecessary clutter.

Such a shame. So much potential. That whole hiding under the bed bit was masterfully done.

END SPOILERS

I won't call it a fantastic movie. It has great elements, tension, and solid acting (Caesar and Mimi), but I can't believe someone could mess up a film this badly in 2011.

Why did I post this?
Maybe someone who saw it wants to share their thoughts. Maybe I missed something.
Would love to chat with anyone who watched it.
Henac, let me know.

It's playing at AMC Theatres in Theater 1.

I don't know, man, I just have this vague memory of it, but honestly? It’s getting better and better the more I think about it. That one scene where the guy gets all tangled up with his fiancée... okay, maybe it was a little over the top, a bit much for my taste. But that ending? Man, that ending absolutely killed. It was freaking incredible.

Patrick Martin said:Not sure. Just remember it vaguely. It gets better with time. That part where he entangles the girl's fiancé felt a bit overambitious. The ending saved it though. Really saved it.

See, that's what I mean.
Glad you watched it.

SPOILERS!

I feel the opposite.
It’s like a sixth sense—everything builds toward that conclusion, but it still doesn't land for me. Why? It would be fine if he intended to manipulate her from the start. But it doesn't make sense because that wasn't his goal. He just drifted along. The pregnancy thing feels more like an accident. Like he says: "I can actually do this right."
I liked his chemistry with the kid, the grandma, and even Mimi in that first half way more. Character dynamics were better. That scene at the end where he kills that poor woman? Heartbreaking. Truly great.
But that ending let me down. He's free, she has his baby. I honestly expected her to toss the baby off a balcony; that would have made more sense. Even killing the fiancé wasn't really his plan. Everything important just happens by chance. Feels too forced.

And what about the mom?! It's cool that he tells her everything and she's suffering, but that's it. I was waiting for a twist involving her. Nothing happened.

Then there's all that pacing around the apartment. Honestly, before he spilled that liquid, I thought it would be funny if she just fell asleep and snored while waiting for him. Then he drinks half a liter of it and walks around the house in the middle of the night, and she just holds it to her nose and it's over. Same for the fiancé.

Though, that scene where he steps between them is hilarious!

END OF SPOILERS!

Doubt I'll give him another shot since the second part was such a letdown. Such a shame. A shame.

Edward Price6 said:It’d be great if he actually intended to do that—pump her up just to screw her over. But honestly, it makes zero sense because that wasn't his vibe from the jump. He was just drifting along, and this whole pregnancy thing in the movie feels more like: "Well, it happened." Even he admits it: He can still make things right.

I mean, I think he had "serious" intentions and "plans" with her right from the start, because whenever he opened up to his mom, he always hinted that things with Clara were different. In a way, he was playing her, the only issue is she didn't see it coming 😁.
At the end, he basically pulled a fast one and threw her under the bus ( 🤦 )

Edward Price6 said:His chemistry with the kid, the grandma, even with Mimi in that first part—it’s way better. Just the character dynamics. That ending where he kills that poor woman? Man, my heart actually sank. That was phenomenal.

Yeah, those relationships are pretty gripping

Edward Price6 said:But that ending totally let me down. He’s free, and she’s stuck with his kid. I was half-expecting her to toss the baby off a balcony; that would've actually made sense to me. And he didn't even really plan to kill the fiancé. Get this: all the major stuff just happened by accident. It felt way too convenient for me.

Sure, everything just fell perfectly into place for him at the end.
Imagine if the fiancé/Marcos had lived and demanded a DNA test.
Now THAT would have been a hell of a show.

Edward Price6 said:And what about the mom?! It's cool that he tells her everything and she's there suffering and crying, but if that's it, it's not enough. I was expecting something more, some kind of twist involving the mom. But nothing...

What kind of twist with the mom? The old lady is dying.
And it seems like the little guy is the main and only reason she ended up in bed in the first place.

Edward Price6 said:So, the whole pacing around the apartment thing... man, believe me, before he went and spilled that liquid all over himself, I actually told him, "Look, it would be pretty damn funny if you just crashed out and started snoring while you wait." And honestly? It played out exactly like that. He downed half a liter of the stuff and then spent the entire night pacing the floor like a caged animal, while she just had to hold it up to her nose and call it a day. Same deal for his fiancé, too.

That scene was a little bit much, honestly—kind of trying way too hard to be deep or whatever—but I gotta admit, it ended up being pretty cool because they actually managed to snag him in the end.

Edward Price6 said:Man, that scene where he just wedges himself right between them? Absolutely hilarious!

Seriously though, that one scene? Absolute gold. And standing there right on the edge of the skyscraper? Man, chills. Even that final shot where they’re just sitting there reading the letter... honestly, it was perfection. Top tier stuff. 🙏

Edward Price6 I can't even begin to process this... what was that supposed to mean? It’s like someone just threw a bunch of random thoughts at a wall and hoped they’d stick. Total nonsense. Honestly, it’s giving me a headache just trying to parse through the chaos. I feel like I need an American psychiatrist just to deal with the mental gymnastics required to make sense of this level of nonsense. Just... wow. Unbelievable.
I don't know, man. I’m really leaning towards not giving him a second chance. That sequel was just... honestly? A total letdown. It's such a damn shame. Just a massive waste.

Man, what a total load of garbage this movie was. Seriously, it’s such a massive waste of time that I have zero desire to ever sit through it again—at least not anytime soon.

There have been quite a few more movie reviews

frozenviper13 said:there were already plenty of posts in the movie review thread

Look, I get it, but the whole point of making a separate thread is just to keep things organized,
you know, so future comments don't turn into a total mess.
so, did you actually watch it?

Patrick Martin said:Have you seen it yet?

Not quite yet... I'm planning to watch it soon.

I mean, what do I know... personally, I thought the movie was great.
All those little nitpicks people are bringing up about "flaws" in the film, man... give me a break. It’s not like it’s supposed to be some flawless masterpiece or anything...
The person who started this thread actually compared this flick to American Psycho, but I just can't get behind that because, honestly, in my book, those two movies don't have anything in common at all.
The whole story really digs into the headspace of someone who just can't figure out how to be happy, so they end up making everyone else around them look miserable just to cope.
Price isn't even focusing on the action sequences here; he’s way more interested in the internal mental wiring of the characters.
I'm pretty happy with it, so I'd give it a solid 7.5/10

If it had been shot in 3D, it would’ve been a masterpiece, wouldn't it? 😁

Joshua Smith5 said:If this thing had been shot in 3D, it would've definitely been a masterpiece, right? 😁

Man, if the director actually had some guts and filmed those sex scenes in 3D, maybe we'd be looking at a real masterpiece here. As it stands? It's nothing special. Just meh.

And honestly, I shouldn't even go there...

Patrick Martin said:man, if the director had just been a little more gutsy and filmed those sex scenes in 3D, this could've actually been a masterpiece, but as it stands, it’s kind of just whatever...

and honestly, I shouldn't even go there...

And imagine if he just dumped her because that's how she likes it, then she dumps him, and then they make up...
Then he leaves her.
Then they have a massive blowout fight.
Then he comes crawling back.
And then some total psycho shows up and slaughters them both with a freaking laser sword in 3D... man, what a movie that would've been...

7.5/10

Patrick Martin said:I think he had "serious" intentions and "plans" from the get-go. When he opened up to his mom, he always mentioned how things were different with Clara. He was basically dating her; she just didn't realize it 😁.
in the end, he used the chaos to throw the cat under the bus ( 🤦 )

yeah, those relationships are interesting

sure, everything worked out perfectly for him in the end.
imagine if the fiancé/Marcos stayed alive and put the baby through a DNA test.
that would have been quite a show.

what a twist with the mom? the old lady is exhausted.
and it seems like the little boy is the main reason she ended up in bed.

that scene felt a bit pretentious, but it turned out cool since they caught him anyway.

true, that scene, the rooftop moment, and the final letter reading were top tier🙏

this movie has enough flaws. I don't feel the need to watch it again, at least not anytime soon...

I guess I'd be curious to see what happened with the mom. Is he somehow responsible for her condition? If he wants to hurt everyone, is it wrong to assume he did the same to his own mother?

That would have been a much more powerful ending than the whole baby thing.

Edward Price6 said:I mean, honestly, I really wish they’d dug deeper into what was going on with his mom. Like, is he somehow responsible for her being in that state? Because if he’s out here trying to hurt everyone else, isn't it a fair guess that he did the same thing to his own mother?

Look, the mom is basically just there as a plot device so we can wrap our heads around Caesar and his whole sickness.
she’s not the main focus, but I bet his actions indirectly broke her down too.

Edward Price6 said:That would have been way more hard-hitting than that whole ending with the baby.

Honestly, I don't think the director could've cooked up anything more impactful than what we got.

Patrick Martin said:Honestly, the mom is just there so we can get a better look at Caesar and his illness.
She isn't the main focus. I think he basically wore her down with how he acted.

I think the director nailed the ending. It couldn't have been more impactful.

I don't know,
it feels like I've seen this before. I can't quite place it, so maybe that's why the ending didn't hit home for me.

spoiler alert!!!

I mean, honestly? That ending was pure genius.
She’s just there, absolutely losing it, sobbing her eyes out while clutching that baby, totally paralyzed and unable to move an inch... meanwhile, he’s just over there casually shaving a pig with this smug little grin on his face. It’s freaking priceless. 🙂 🤦

It feels a bit staged though.
How did he know he’d be reading that letter?
And if she opened it from a yellow envelope with a heart on it, how could she possibly know who sent it?
Maybe it's just life experience talking.
I actually had a stalker once for a while, so I just used to toss letters without opening them. That was back before email and Facebook. Hehe.

Some woman gets curious and snoops through a letter, probably thinking it was some final message sent from her late fiancé 🤷

Patrick Martin said:maybe she was just curious and decided to peek at the letter, thinking maybe it was something sent posthumously from her fiancé or whatever... 🤷

That’s honestly one of the main reasons she went through the letter.
And besides, why shouldn't she read it?
She probably figures since she’s so far away from him, he can't really do anything to hurt her anymore, plus you've got that basic human curiosity, just like what that guy I mentioned earlier was talking about...
I really don't get why anyone thinks there's anything wrong with her reading a letter.🤷

rapidfalcon7 said:One reason she actually went through the letter.
And honestly, why wouldn't she?
She figures since she’s all the way across the country from him, he can't touch her anymore, plus you've got that basic human curiosity thing, just like that guy I mentioned earlier.
I don't see what the big deal is about her reading a damn letter.🤷

I'm not really following that bolded part, what was the point you were trying to make there?

So, she basically just bailed on everyone at the end, didn't she? Like, she totally ghosted...
And he actually cleared out and hit the road once the cops started breathing down his neck. Or was that how it went?😕