Review of Doctor Sleep (2002) by Alison O — 14 Sep 2004

Best in Show: Goran Visnjic.

One for the future: Miranda Otto.

Stand-out scene: Sinister immortal walking around the suitcase church.

Brainer or no-brainer: Brainer.

Stands up to one viewing or repeated?: Repeated.

DVD commentary any good?: n/a.

TV.

Cut down to an hour and a hour for its showing on British TV (as 'Doctor Sleep'), this BBC Films production is genuinely unsettling at times (the first appearance of the sinister immortal had me fair bricking it) and boasts an impressive roster of international talent. Goran Visnjic swaps his troubled Croatian emigre Emergency Doctor of Medicine persona for that of Dr. Strother, a 'European' hynotherapist with added gifts (seeing into people's dreams and visions under hypnosis). His pregnant wife is played by Aussie Miranda 'Eowyn' Otto but the remainder of the cast is mostly British including the always impressive Paddy Considine, Shirley Henderson and Claire Rushbrook. Dr Strother gets involved in a police investigation into the kidnapping of a young girl when he (temporarily) cures a WPC of her addiction to smoking and lets slip that he's glimpsed her vision of the said girl. Some impressive special effects and genuinely frightening scenes all point at this being a big budget production so why the missing twenty minutes? Maybe it a ploy to get you to buy the DVD so that the BBC can recoup some of their costs or is that a bit cynical??