Sleeping Beauty Synopsis & Review: Plot Summary

🎯 Quick Overview

😅 Plot Summary – Badly Explained

A college student takes a job sleeping with old men but they can’t actually *do* anything, leading to existential dread and questionable life choices.

🍿 Sleeping Beauty: Detailed Plot Synopsis

Introduction to Lucy’s World

Lucy, a university student in Sydney, struggles with multiple jobs to make ends meet. She participates in medical experiments, works in a coffee shop, and does office work, highlighting her detached and somewhat apathetic approach to life. This section establishes her financial difficulties and lack of emotional connection.

The ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Job

Lucy responds to an ad for a silver service waitress in lingerie, leading her to Clara, who manages a high-end establishment. She’s initially a waitress but soon transitions to a role where she’s drugged and sleeps naked while clients can do anything but penetrate her. This job becomes her primary source of income, reflecting her willingness to commodify herself.

Loss and Detachment

Lucy’s life continues with a sense of emptiness. She’s evicted from her apartment and moves to a more expensive one. Her friend Birdmann overdoses, and she shows little emotion at his death. She even asks a casual acquaintance to marry her at the funeral, highlighting her inability to form meaningful relationships.

Seeking Answers

Fired from her office job, Lucy becomes increasingly curious about what happens during her drugged sleep. She tries to find out but is denied access to this information by Clara. This curiosity leads her to take matters into her own hands, purchasing a camera to record the events.

⚠️ Spoilers and Ending Explained

🎬 Cast & Characters

• Lucy (Emily Browning): A university student who takes on increasingly unconventional jobs, including sleeping while drugged for paying customers, leading to a detached existence.
• Clara (Rachael Blake): The madam who manages the clandestine operation where Lucy works, maintaining a professional demeanor while overseeing morally ambiguous activities.
• Birdmann (Ewen Leslie): Lucy’s friend, a recovering alcoholic who provides a semblance of connection amidst her isolating experiences.
• Man 1 (Peter Carroll): A recurring client at Clara’s establishment who eventually dies while sleeping next to Lucy.
• Thomas (Eden Falk): Clara’s assistant who acts as a liaison, coordinating Lucy’s appointments and maintaining the operation’s logistics.

💬 Memorable Quotes

• Clara: “You will go to sleep; you will wake up. It will be as if those hours never existed.” – Clara explains to Lucy the nature of her duties as a ‘sleeping beauty,’ emphasizing the dissociative aspect of the job.
• Clara: “The tea is like aspirin for the soul.” – Clara offers Lucy the drugged tea to help her relax before her ‘sleeping’ sessions.
• Man 1: “Rise up and walk, none of your bones are broken.” – The man says this to Lucy when she appears to be injured, this shows how little he cares about the situation that Lucy is in.

💰Box Office

• Budget: A$3,000,000
• Domestic Gross: $36,578
• Worldwide Gross: $408,680

💥 Sleeping Beauty Reviews

Personal Review

I was really intrigued by the premise of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ because it sounded so different from anything I’d seen before. Emily Browning’s performance was mesmerizing; she really captured this sense of detachment and vulnerability. The scenes in the mansion were so unsettling, especially the dinner party. Honestly, it left me feeling a bit disturbed and confused. The ending was definitely a conversation starter, but I’m still not sure if I loved it or hated it. I think it’s a film that stays with you long after you’ve watched it.

• Who would enjoy:
  • “Fans of art house films”
  • “Viewers interested in psychological dramas”
  • “Those who appreciate films with ambiguous endings”
  • “Viewers interested in character studies about isolated individuals”
  • “Those looking for morally ambiguous stories”
• Content warnings ⚠:
  • “Nudity”
  • “Implied sexual content”
  • “Drug use”
  • “Mature themes”
  • “Disturbing content”
  • “Portrayal of death”

Professional Reviews

• IndieWire: “Leigh’s debut is visually stunning, exploring themes of voyeurism and alienation. Browning delivers a fearless performance, though the narrative ambiguity may frustrate some viewers. The film challenges audiences to confront uncomfortable truths about desire and exploitation, making it a memorable, if unsettling, experience.
• The Guardian: “A stylish and provocative film, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ offers a bleak look at contemporary sexuality. While some may find it slow-paced and opaque, others will appreciate its atmospheric tension and thought-provoking themes. Emily Browning’s performance is captivating, but the film’s detached tone may leave some viewers emotionally distant.
• Slant Magazine: “Sleeping Beauty is a deeply flawed but fascinating work. Julia Leigh’s direction is assured, creating a dreamlike atmosphere that is both alluring and disturbing. However, the film’s lack of narrative clarity and emotional engagement ultimately undermines its potential, leaving the audience with more questions than answers.

Audience Reactions

The film’s unsettling atmosphere and Emily Browning’s brave performance kept viewers engaged.: Viewers appreciated the film’s exploration of taboo subjects and its refusal to offer easy answers.

Many found the film slow-paced and confusing, struggling to connect with the characters or understand the plot.: Some viewers felt the film was pretentious and lacked a clear message or emotional impact.

Overall Consensus: Sleeping Beauty is a divisive film that sparks debate with its provocative themes and ambiguous narrative. While some praise its artistry and Emily Browning’s performance, others find it slow-paced, confusing, and ultimately unsatisfying.

Awards

🛠️ Behind the Scenes

• “Julia Leigh’s directorial debut, ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ generated controversy at the Cannes Film Festival due to its explicit themes and imagery.”
• “Emily Browning reportedly forbade her father from seeing the film, given its sensitive content and her character’s nudity.”
• “The film’s visual style was heavily influenced by Stanley Kubrick, particularly his use of symmetrical compositions and detached atmosphere.”

🖥️ How to Watch Sleeping Beauty?

As an art house film, ‘Sleeping Beauty’ is not widely available on major streaming platforms. Check streaming rental options on Prime Video, Apple TV, or Google Play Movies for potential availability. DVD and Blu-ray copies may also be available for purchase online at retailers such as Amazon.

🎥 Similar Movies

If you enjoyed Sleeping Beauty, you might like these similar films:

• Eyes Wide Shut (1999): Explores themes of sexual exploration and the hidden desires of the wealthy elite.
• Belle de Jour (1967): A woman explores her sexuality in an unexpected way, seeking freedom and self-discovery outside societal norms.
• House of the Sleeping Beauties (2006): Shares a similar premise of young women being drugged for the pleasure of older men, creating a direct comparison.

🛒 Sleeping Beauty Related Products

• Sleeping Beauty (Blu-ray): Own a physical copy of the film to experience its haunting visuals and thought-provoking themes in high definition. The Blu-ray edition may include behind-the-scenes footage and interviews.
• The House of the Sleeping Beauties by Yasunari Kawabata: This thought-provoking novel explores similar themes as Sleeping Beauty. Experience the narrative inspiration to the film, delving even deeper into the psyche of a haunting beauty.
• Eyes Wide Shut (Blu-ray): A masterpiece of erotic cinema from Stanley Kubrick. Experience the movie that Sleeping Beauty gets compared to. Explore the themes of erotic mystery, existential dread and self.

🎧 Soundtrack

Sleeping Beauty features a captivating soundtrack that enhances the movie’s atmosphere and emotional impact. Here are some notable tracks:

• “What Gives” – performed by Deniz Tek and Warwick Gilbert

You can find the complete soundtrack on Amazon Music and Apple Music.

🤨 FAQ

🔥 Bonus Content

The Messed Up Origins of Sleeping Beauty | Disney Explained – Jon Solo

Ever wondered where the story of Sleeping Beauty REALLY came from? This video dives into the darker, more messed-up origins of the tale, and honestly, it’s way more twisted than the Disney version!

How Aurora’s 3 Fairies Were The Secret Villains Of Sleeping Beauty…

Could the seemingly sweet fairies in Sleeping Beauty actually be the *real* villains? This video makes a pretty convincing case, and it totally changed how I see the movie.

The Original Sleeping Beauty was ASSAULTED by the King! 😤

You think you know the story of Sleeping Beauty? Think again! This video will absolutely shock you with what REALLY happened in the original version. I was not ready for this!

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