Review of Sleepless Night (2013) by Merkley M — 08 Feb 2013

Sleepless Night (French: Nuit Blanche) French-Belgian-Luxembourgian thriller film directed and co-written by Frederic Jardin. Starring Tomer Sisley. The film premiered in 2011 at the Toronto International Film Festival. Film became the 15th highest grossing film in France on its opening week and grossed a total of $298,383.

A crooked cop Vincent (Sisley), and his offsider Manuel jack the wrong cocaine stash in a daring daylight raid. The coke belongs to Marciano a Parisian gangster who identifies Vincent and ups his bargaining power by kidnapping Vincent's son. The kid is held in Marciano's vast nightclub a multi-storied nightclub/restaurant/pool hall venue. Vincent agrees to swap the drugs for his son but a determined young detective Lizzlie derails his plan in the nick of time.

I am always on the lookout for non-stop thriller movies like this, and what a wonderful experience this has been. Last time I watched French film Point Blank and it was breathtaking; well this seemed no lesser than the earlier non-stop thrillers. Excellent cinematography from Tom Stern who is known for frequently working on Clint Eastwood movies. Much of the plot is inside the nightclub, which shows the skills of people involved in this film's making.

As per requirement of being a joint Belgian-French-Luxembourgian production, the film was partially shot in these locations 1. Dance club scene was shot in Belgium 2. Scenes inside kitchen and parking scenes were shot in Luxembourg.

NOTE: May God save us, as Warner Bros. Studios has bought the rights for Hollywood remake.