By: Neil Smith

The classic fairy tale gets an erotic new twist in this strange new film from Australia starring Emily Sucker Punch Browning.

What's the story?
Reckless university student Lucy (Emily Browning) takes a job that requires her to be a drugged plaything for wealthy pervs. The more clients she has, though, the more she wonders what they're doing while she's in the land of nod.

What did we think?
Rigorously austere, cold to the touch and defiantly unsexy, this Antipodean oddity is an unsettling look at voyeurism, submission and deviant urges that boasts a fearless turn from one of Australia's most striking young talents. It's so slow and ponderous, though, that you may feel like taking 40 winks yourself.

The last time we saw Emily Browning, she was prancing about in a series of skimpy outfits in kinky actioner Sucker Punch. If Julia Leigh's dark drama is anything to go by, working on Zack Snyder's film must have given the actress an appetite for being objectified.

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But it would be a disservice to Sleeping Beauty to dismiss it as mere arty porn. For one thing it's not especially arousing, its static cameras, minimal dialogue and long, unbroken shots making for a coolly dispassionate experience reminiscent of Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

For another there is no actual sex, the house of pleasure to which Browning's Lucy periodically journeys having a strict "no penetration" rule enforced by sleek madam Clara (Rachael Blake). So what we have here is essentially a mystery. Why would a beautiful young woman like Lucy allow herself to be a somnolent mannequin? And what kind of rich kook would pay for the privilege of spending the night beside her limp, unresponsive body?

Whether awake or dozing, Browning is a compelling presence whose expressionless, doll-like face masks an inner turmoil. Her film, though, is likely to frustrate and bore as many people as it intrigues and captivates.

Verdict: Best bring a pillow, just in case.

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