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Excellent but underrated film

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

When it comes to action thrillers, French cinema has put out some really good stuff over the last couple of years. This is another example of great action thriller. A ride you want to take if you like movies with a high suspense level. It actually impressed Americans that much, that they made a remake of this one.You can assume that the Remake is not as good as this, but if you don't like reading subtitles, then you might want to go check the Jamie Foxx version of this. This one is a roller-coaster that won't let you breathe. Once the action starts, there is no stopping. It's more about action and about getting things rolling. Still you got really good actors pulling things off. Sit back, watch and enjoy

Like in his two previous movies , 'The Burma Conspiracy' and 'Largo Winch', Tomer Sisley delivers a solid performance; he is convincing, pulls you into his character's corner and you will not only be rooting for him, you will feel his pain. As much as I enjoyed the previous two films of Sisley, I was no less engaged here. The movie's premise is simple, at least at the onset, but then it gets complicated in just the right measure, as any good thriller ought to. Also, as you'll find in several top French action thriller, the line between good and bad cop gets a little blurry, creatively speaking (that's good); there are no good guys, you might think, only innocent bystanders.Sisley plays a motivated man like you would expect any 'father trying to rescue his son' type character should; however, this movie brings it to an even higher plateau. You are convinced his character is a cop turned bad, like so many classic cop characters do, and this is strategically intended; he's not. It is easy to miss this important fact, with all the tense action and intense bad guys, and I almost did. At that point, you are even more compelled by the story, but if you don't pay attention, you just might remain unaware he was a good cop until the end when it becomes clear he was a hero times two.The very high ratings by critics indicate to me they have not missed any of those details. But fear not, regardless if the fast paced action scenes prevent you from catching the little clues, it can still work thanks to a fine 'dénouement' ending; nonetheless, I hope you catch all the clues. Don't drink Red Bull or anything of the sort while viewing this highly charged film; it may be harmful to your health. On the other hand, if you do, you won't miss any of the smart twists.

"Sleepless Night" opens with a drug heist gone wrong, which should already give you an idea of the kind of movie it is. Two masked robbers aggressively drive up to a car in the middle of the street, in which are two drug carriers with a duffle bag containing around ten kilos of cocaine. The masked robbers pull guns on the carriers and order them to retrieve the bag. One of the carriers is shot dead, but not before he stabs the robber in his side and taking off his mask, exposing him to public view. The other one escapes. It's at this point we learn that the robbers are actually cops. The one that was stabbed is named Vincent (Tomer Sisley). He also happens to be the one that orchestrated the heist. The one that let the other carrier escape is named Manuel (Laurent Stocker). They know they have to go to the scene and at least attempt to cover their tracks.As this is being established, we learn that Vincent has a teenage son named Thomas (Samy Seghir). The two are not on the best terms; Vincent, always working, is never around. He drops Thomas off at school, the two having had an argument. Later in the day Vincent's ex-wife, Julia (Catalina Denis), calls in a panic, as Thomas hasn't been answering his cell phone. Initially, Vincent believes that there's nothing to worry about. But then he gets a call from Thomas' cell phone; on the other end is Vincent's underworld connection, a mob boss named Jose Marciano (Serge Riaboukine). Thomas has been kidnapped. Jose is very upset with Vincent. Not only was he recognized in the heist by a bystander, he also has the bag of cocaine. Thomas' life depends on Vincent delivering the bag to Jose's nightclub by the end of the night.Vincent has every intention of delivering, much to the chagrin of Manuel, who has debts that need to be erased. Vincent infiltrates Jose's nightclub with the bag and promptly hides it above a ceiling tile in a men's room stall. Unbeknownst to him, he has been followed by another cop named Vignali (Lizzie Brochere), who traces his steps, finds the bag, and moves it into a spot just above a ladies' room stall. Her superior is a cop named Lacombe (Julien Boisselier), who has an understanding with the desperate Manuel. Lacombe's job is to sniff out corrupt cops, which would be fine except that he's a zealot and an absolute jerk. Vincent does not yet know he's involved, but it well aware of who Lacombe is, and he can sense early on that he and Manuel are already in trouble.It's at this point that the film becomes a monotonous series of tense exchanges and action sequences. Vincent finally meets with Jose, who then allows Thomas to catch a glimpse of his father. Vincent returns to the men's room, discovers that the bag of cocaine is missing, and in a panic storms into the club's kitchen and forces two cooks to fill dozens of Ziploc bags with flour. Jose meets with the Turkish carriers the cocaine is supposed to be delivered to, and yet another series of tense exchanges take place. Vincent rescues his son, only for him to be promptly recaptured. There are many scenes in which Vincent frantically darts through various sections of the club, from the main room to the adjoining restaurant to the upstairs rooms to the kitchen. The latter is the setting for a physical altercation between Vincent and Lacombe, one that was allowed to go on much longer than it should have.I think part of the problem here is that the plot comes off as a means to an end, namely an excuse to overload the final act with action sequences. There's nothing innately wrong with action, although I am bothered when it amounts to little more than displays of kinetic energy. It becomes less about the situation and more about the violence, the choreography, the unsteady camera-work, the standoffs, and the gunshots. It becomes a technical exercise when it should have remained a story. When the film does stop to take a breath, we notice that Vincent is continuing to nurse his stab wound. This means, obviously, that it's not just a matter of saving Thomas; it's a matter of saving him before time runs out.The climax of the film, which I will not spoil for you, is more emotional than it is narrative. There is something to be said for taking that approach, but only when it's done well. Here, we're left with the unshakable feeling that more needed to be said before the final credits started rolling. The loose ends were left untied. Here is a film in which you want full resolution, if for no reason other than it seems appropriate given the material. "Sleepless Night" gets off to an adequate start and is in general not a bad film, but I do feel that it could have tried for something a little less mechanical. It's at heart the story of a father trying to rescue his son, so I see no reason why the filmmakers had to rely so heavily on unnecessary displays of frenetic activity. Less action and more character would have been a good place to start.-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

This basically sums the whole plot.Now I must admit that I was expecting a father raising hell to rescue his son.In stead they go for a more realistic approach.Well,most of the time.And show a father that is desperate but limited in his actions because of the setting and is thinking about the aftermath.He is trying hard to avoid bloodshed. At times he managed to stay cool when others would have gone ballistic.But then there were moments he lost his cool.This was one of the strong points and at the same time a weak one. The actions of the main character (Tomer Sisly) are a bit uneven to say the least.I found it strange that Tomer remained so calm at times when just seconds before he lost it.Somebody so pumped with adrenalin would feel energized and keep on going.There are some scenes probably there to show the desperation.But to me they were ineffective and slowed the pace down when it needed to kick into high gear.Still we do feel for Tomer Sisly who is in this due to his own actions.But also because of an eager female cop who directly made a bad situation worse.Here is a character who decided to show initiative and then for the most time isn't capable of a simple coherent thought.Not once does she believe what Tomer says to her.At the same time she accepts every word from her superior even when the guy is clearly an ass.It helps to enhance the drama and the plot but I dislike it when within hours a character shows flat or contradicting behaviour.Most characters are a bit one dimensional which is a shame.Since a little depth to them would have increased the tension.One of the villains (Marciano played by Serge Riaboukine) who is very nasty but seems practical and at times even reasonable.But because of the one dimension he remains a cartoon like villain. Even when it is clear that the actor could easily make the character more interesting.On the other hand the focus here does lie on the desperation of a father and adding depth to other characters could have distracted us from that.In the end it does not matter much since Nuit Blance for the most part is a very effective action thriller that will keep you entertained throughout.