Review of Sleep Furiously (2008) by Mike G — 05 Jun 2009

Pretty great little British film which nonetheless walks a very thin line between banality and profundity. It comes too often, too close to a disconcerting sort of 'People's Friend' countryside cosiness, though these moments are thankfully kept more or less in check by regular cold plunges into scenes of bloody muddy farmwork and elemental hardship.

The photography is uniformly first class. There are some genuine laughs - naturally at the expense of the country folks.

It's only really in its final moments when genuine sadness enters the film, and an understanding that there's more to Sleep Furiously than a pleasant countryside travelogue, or a bit of harmless fingerpointing and laughing at the silly farming folks.

Not a future classic, but definitely a future gem.