The Sleep of Reason

It's interesting how this project, presented on TV as something that was originally conceived to be a podcast, has evolved to become a full fledged television series. Although intentionally surrounded by much mystery and ambiguity, the 8 episodes (I only managed to see five of them) actually happen to be quite entertaining and well produced. The story revolves around the murder of a psychiatrist (whom we only see in flashback mode) and the attempt by her alleged assassin to turn the responsibility of the killing on to her husband, himself a psychiatrist. But this plot is only a pretext to introduce what I thought was the really new concept underlying this project: that everything real has always an "unreal" or supernatural alter ego, so that in analyzing what is going on the series' host (a journalist who has become a good friend to the husband) draws your attention to issues like communication with the dead or unknown rituals rather than to the factual investigation of the murder. Although I have no idea of how this first chunk of the series ends at episode 8, I liked how the authors totally broke the usual rules of dramatic narration to come up with something that at least explores ways to make a story enjoyable on both your TV screen and on your ipod.

Is "The Sleep of Reason" a television series, a news report for mobile phones or both? After watching it all in one go on Universal's channel, I found out you could download another previously unreleased (and apparently unrelated) episode from the internet. So I did. Same characters, but this time a totally different story. In the beginning it seemed disorienting, but then I realized there is a carefully thought over mechanism in the way all of these segments, disseminated at one time both on the web and on television, interconnect with each other. Even though in order to follow the thread you've got to get used to jumping from one platform to the other. And what I liked about it is that although it goes on breaking every possible rule of dramatic narration, it emulates the structure of a typical, full length television episode with prologue, teaser and cliffhanger, compressing in less than ten minutes what usually takes almost sixty. So who cares about where the story's actually going or if it's based on true facts: you've got a few dense minutes to digest at full blast here before you have the time to wonder if it's real or all fake after all.

If you asked me today what the story of "The Sleep of Reason" is about, I would have difficulties recapping it chronologically. There are so many interlacing subplots in this series that it's hard to remember one in particular, except that there's a psychiatrist murdered by one of her patients. But the concept, that is news report styled drama interspersed with allegedly (and often very well orchestrated) exclusive footage about the event narrated in each episode, is totally new. Although you inevitably suspend the credibility factor halfway, the way the events are conveyed is so intriguing that you lose sight of whether the facts are real of fiction. I saw the series in one go at the Ravenna Film Festival and I must agree with others that it is somehow tough to go through all of the episodes sequentially, given the abundance of material: so this is probably the perfect companion on your portable media player with its more than tolerable length of about ten minutes. I had fun and at the end of it I wanted to have more, and given how easily bored I get (especially at this experimental stuff) this is definitely a good sign.

In the series "The Sleep of Reason", produced by and aired on Studio Universal, a British journalist investigates the murder of a woman and tries to explain that behind this homicide there is some kind of irrational explanation. The more he tries to collect evidence, the more he gets dragged into the world of the paranormal: mediums, ghosts, bi-location, transmigration of the soul. What I found it fascinating, compared to other similar kind of formats, is that here there is no effort whatsoever to scare, on the contrary everything is reported exactly as a real journalist would. This detached style of telling what is quite an incredible story is I think the strength of this product, halfway between a collection of independent shorts and a miniseries. "The Blair Witch Project" is probably the only other movie I have seen in years that has given me the same sense of realism, although its premises were completely different in its attempt to boost its own credibility, whereas "The Sleep of Reason" does not really deny its fictional nature. Rather, it applies a news reporting style to fiction in a way that makes the product's structure prevail over story itself, with "realism" becoming the grid through which the plot unfolds. While not immune from often severe dramatic inconsistencies and sometimes chaotic story lines, something to watch nevertheless.

I saw all eight episodes of the series on Studio Universal, enduring until dawn when they aired the last one! But it was well worth it. Although in the beginning you may be tricked into believing this is all true, it turns out I was watching one of the most original experiments of TV fiction I've seen in years. At times the story is so dense to be confusing, but the way it is narrated makes you want to know what happens to the characters next and instantly sympathize for them. It is not easy for short movies to establish that bridge with its characters because they don't last enough to build on their personality. Here it somehow happens and at episode 3 you feel as you've known forever, as if this was the series' second or third season. The thriller background is very entertaining and the British journalist hosting the series moves at ease in a world of mentally disturbed politicians, deranged psychiatrists, arrogant medical doctors.