Chasing Sleep (2001)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

True: the atmosphere of the movie is great, while Jeff Daniels is an tremendous actor. But.. why would someone go through the heavy work of making such a good-looking movie, if it doesn't really have a point? Daniels' character is clearly going through a nervous breakdown; it's possible that he had killed his wife, or maybe she had left him and he imagines a revenge. So what? This ambiguity it's been done a thousand times. If you watch the movie trying to find out what happened, but in the end the director/writer doesn't let you find out what happened, it's not "artsy", it's gross cheating. So it's a movie for those moviegoers who don't care they will not have an answer; they are happy with the atmosphere, they don't need closure. But for the people who need an explanation, because that explanation would give the movie a reason to exist, it's a pretentious fail.

After seeing a freaky avatar of a gigantic slimy lookin baby over-flowing a bathtub I realized, almost immediately, that I needed to see this flick. And not too long after realizing I needed to see this film I got off my bumbum and did what I had to do to see it. And I'm very glad I did.The story revolves around Jeff Daniels character realizing that his wife hasn't come home from work. He begins to worry and calls the police. From this moment, you begin to realize Jeff's character is severely withdrawn from sleep. He's struggling to remember what time of day it is, and he believes he is sleeping but for only moments at a time. It's a mish-mash effect that works pretty damn well. The sleep-depraved Daniels is trying to juggle the disappearance of his wife, the interaction with his daily life and the inability to count sheep, and it's beginning to take a toll.Chasing Sleep is an underrated gem of a flick. It's a slow-burn flick, but it's also very interesting and has amazing direction, music and camera-work. My only problem was that the script, and the delivery of the lines, felt too rushed. Conversations would fly by with not enough hesitation. Even with this minor fault, the acting still held up and the writing was still strong enough to keep you feeling this was a realistic situation. Nevertheless, Chasing Sleep was a very nice surprise and that baby lived up to all it's weird-ass glory. Check it out if you get the chance.

This is not a good movie to watch while waiting for your wife to come home late.. When my wife did came home she turned off the TV, so the ending was cut off, unfortunately.That said, Jeff Daniels does a very credible work as an actor in the movie. One can almost believe him as an insomniac professor who is just worried about his wife.Personally, I liked the girl who played the student (Emily Bergl I think). Her earnest acting showed through. Rest of the cast were nothing special.7/10, especially worth watching if you are not married.

Great,dark, underrated Film. The ending isn't difficult to fathom from early in the movie-It's the twists and turns of reality[POSSIBLE SPOILER] vs. fantasy that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Contrary to others who have commented on this film-I am NOT a Kubrick or Lynch fan-TOO dark and violent for my personal taste. This movie stands on it's own, and Jeff Daniels gives a very believable intense performance. A hidden gem!