The Sleepless: Kami Sadraei’s Twist On Facing Your Issues

Quick question. How would you get the most out of your therapy? Whatever your answer may be, The Sleepless‘ protagonist would disagree. Jake, a man who has not slept well in years, uses his therapy session rather efficiently. 

Written and directed by Kami Sadraei, the seven-minute film revels in its moody black and white atmosphere (more photographic than it is cinematic), using the time to smoothly set up its ending. Jake, played by Sadraei himself, has turned up at his doctor’s office, presumably for the very first time, as Dr. Moore (Eric Roberts) asks him all the preliminary questions about his life. Regular childhood, normal parents, Jake says, all while he lets slip that they were hypercritical, or that his father had a compulsive attention to detail. Soon enough, more details start tumbling out. How his father became increasingly troubled, how his parents’ marriage slowly soured, how tragedy set the course of Jake’s life, devolving into a fevered, haunted sleeplessness, lasting years. 

Through all this, Dr. Moore, a grey-haired man, remains a fairly passive character, innocuous and unremarkable. He comes into play as a crucial piece of the game only when the film reaches its climax, an aha moment for everyone involved, including the audience. 

Sadraei has hit the nail on its head with his use of music for The Sleepless; the score affects the story in a way that elevates it beyond what the writing manages to accomplish. 

You might see it coming, or it may hit you entirely as a surprise, but the conclusion makes the film an entertaining puzzle, perfect for one-time viewing.