Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Brady Corbet, David Call, Karen Young, Ritchie Montgomery, Lindsay Soileau
Cinematography by Jody Lee Lipes
Written by Alistair Banks Griffin
Certification TBC
Runtime 79 minutes
Directed by Alistair Banks Griffin
Models. So gorgeous to look at but all too often when you actually spend any time with them they’re really quite boring. I’m speculating, obviously. The only models I’ve spent any time with required glue to assemble and benefited from a deftly place transfer on the wings. Two Gates of Sleep is the cinematic equivalent of a female model – beautiful to look at, but more than a little bit dull.
Set in the Louisiana/Mississippi region of the United States, the story centres on two brothers who live in not-so splendid isolation with their ailing mother. They hunt deer, watch a television which has very little reception and say very little indeed. At the heart of the film is a journey undertaken by the brothers, a gruelling trek across country by day and night.
Two Gates of Sleep is well-crafted from a cinematographic perspective. The framing of certain shots is exquisite, bordering on pure art, and the southern states certainly photograph beautifully. After a while though, a slideshow of stills began to seem infinitely preferable. The glacial pace and almost complete lack of drama simply does not make for good cinema and it’s virtually impossible to get emotionally involved in characters who do not or cannot emote. As an example of experimental, minimalist film, this is, for a short time at least, an interesting exercise. But it’s as an aid to insomnia where it really triumphs. Two Gates of Sleep? More like Two Hours of Sleep.