Gary Oldman was right when he said THE
PREFECT SLEEP is film noir on crack. The film is a twisted and self aware
beast in the vein of films like SIN
CITY. The imagery and story
keeps your eyes on what is going on. It is the tale of a nameless narrator (Anton
Pardoe) that many have nicknamed the Mad Monk. He is back in the city after years
to exact his revenge and rescue the daughter of the woman he loves and can never have, Porphyria (the sexy and beautiful Roselyn
Sanchez).
The
film traces the narrator as he goes through pain and injury to get the job done. We
see the history of his life and childhood. He is a tortured soul who can never
find peace while he is alive (ever since the suicide of his mother Tatiana). The
man who wants him dead is the Rajah, the cruel adopted son of Nikolai (Patrick Bauchau).
Patrick Bauchau is excellent as Nikolai. He bringsa calm gravitas to the role. I always think he adds
a bit of class to any project he is involved in whether it is a movie or a TV series guest spot.
The relationships
are complicated in this film as Porphyria does love the narrator (and yet he can never have her again).
That relationship is like a SIN CITY version of CASABLANCA. We never know who the narrator's father is, but the
film does lay down clues who it may be. It is up to us to decide. Also THE PERFECT SLEEP is like a film
noir written by Shakespeare. THE PERFECT SLEEP is a wild cocktail written by Anton Pardoe and directed with a
cinematic flair by Jeremy Atler.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Unfortunately, the only extra is a useless
still gallery. It would have been good to have a theatrical trailer and a featurette
or even an audio commentary on this insane film noir.
FINAL ANALYSIS: THE PERFECT SLEEP is perfect.
This DVD review is (c)7-4-2009 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com