Next month, production will begin on a Julia Leigh’s modern take on “Sleeping Beauty.” What I think is so interesting about this upcoming version of the fairy tale is that it is nothing like Disney’s romanticized version that is clearly targeted to children. It will use the sexual and darker aspects of “Sun, Moon, and Talia.” Actually, it makes these components of the story much more prominent and extreme.
This new take on the old tale will certainly not be for children. There are no wicked fairies in this version of the story that put the title character under a curse. So what exactly happens to this girl to make her a sleeping beauty? Actually, she turns herself into a sleeping beauty, intentionally and repeatedly. The main character is a student who turns to prostitution to pay her bills. Her specialty as a prostitute is catering to men with a fetish for having intercourse with sleeping women who can’t remember anything afterward. The protagonist brings her customers to a “sleeping beauty chamber” where she drugs herself. People discussing what is known about the plot online comment that they are not sure how it relates to the fairy tale of the same name. Clearly, they have not read the version where the title character is raped while sleeping. I was not able to find any information indicating if Julia Leigh is actually familiar with “Sun, Moon, and Talia.” It will be very interesting to see how this version of the story ends and if it has any other similarities with the fairy tale.
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/02/10/emily-browning-will-be-a-sleeping-beauty-for-hire/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
How many people are gonna accidentally bring their kids to see this movie because of the title?
ReplyDeleteThis film makes explicit something that modern interpretations of Sleeping Beauty call into question: the sexual power balance between men and women. If the male urge is to dominate a submissive woman, what could be easier than dominating an unconscious woman? The new question here is whether or not the Sleeping Beauty putting herself in that position (and it not being accidental, or a result of the man's effort) changes the power dynamic.
ReplyDelete