Mientras Duermes (Sleep Tight)
DIRECTOR: Jaume Balaguero, WRITTEN BY: Alberto Marini, STARRING: Luis Tosar, Marta Etura, RUN TIME: 102 minutes, RELEASE: 2011, LANGUAGE: Spanish
Apartment concierge Cesar (Luis Tosar) is a miserable person who believes he was born without the ability to be happy. As a result, he decides his mission is to make life hell for everyone around him. A majority of the tenants are easy to agitate, but Clara (Marta Etura) proves to be harder than the most. So Cesar goes to creepy extremes to make this young woman mentally break down. Things get even more complicated in this twisted relationship when her boyfriend, Marcos (Alberto San Juan), shows up.
Sleep Tight is a great little Spanish psychological thriller about obsession and loneliness that really hits the mark high on the 'creep' factor. The plot is nothing short of sinister and disturbing as we follow the deeply unhappy Cesar unleashing a meticulous campaign of torment against the residents of the apartment block - of which he is the concierge - in a bid to make them as miserable as he is, providing him with his only means of the closest thing to happiness. Most of them are simple enough but, one resident in particular proves much more difficult to break. Clara is young, beautiful, bubbly and happy-go-lucky and pretty much the epitome of everything that Cesar hates to see in another person and has never had for himself. Frustrated that his subtle plans to destroy her naturally cheerful demeanour is providing little result, Cesar slowly starts to up the stakes with unnerving psychological and physical games as he becomes more and more unhinged at the disappointment of her annoying and unsuspecting resilience.
Luis Tosar is nothing short of sensational as Cesar, bringing warmth and friendliness to the role of the kind, helpful and personable concierge whilst portraying his character's darker side with great and subtle menace that really shows off the incredible range of his acting abilities. This is the first role I have ever seen him in and I really look forward to visiting his other films and seeing what other wonderful performances he has brought to the table. Equally, the stunning Marta Etura brings her own greatness and likeability to the film, acting as the perfect juxtaposition to Tosar's morose and hateful Cesar. Also, it would be remiss of me not to mention the fine performance given by the brilliant young actress Iris Almeida as the darling little cherub, Ursula. I won't go into her character but, I'm sure you'll love to hate her as much as I did. She really is splendid.
Sleep Tight is a marvellously tension-filled film that had me on a knife's-edge on several occasions. The writing is absolutely second-to-none and the cast deliver each of their individual roles superbly. It sometimes has a wonderfully gloomy and depressing feel to it to reflect the character of Cesar and the utilization of blues and dreary pastel colours really add to the overall tone of the film. Either that was intentional or I have just insulted the set designers. In regardless, It was a great touch. The pacing is extremely slow and natural but, not without content. You never feel like you want to force it along and get to the point. It plays out exactly as it should and builds to a refreshingly satisfying climax. Between this and 'The Babadook', I'm glad I don't have the kind of bed that anyone can hide under. If you're into thrillers or foreign language films then I strongly recommend that you give this film a look.