Sleeping Beauty (2011)

Sleeping Beauty is a 2011 Australian drama film that was written and directed by Julia Leigh. It is her debut as a director. The film stars Emily Browning as a young university student who begins doing erotic freelance work in which she is required to sleep in bed alongside paying customers. The film is based in part on the novel The House of the Sleeping Beauties by Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata.

The film premiered in May at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival as the first Competition entry to be screened. It was the first Australian film In Competition at Cannes since Moulin Rouge! (2001). Sleeping Beauty was released in Australia on 23 June 2011. It premiered in US cinemas on 2 December 2011 on limited release. Critical reaction to the film was mixed.

Synopsis

Lucy (Emily Browning) is a university student who holds a number of odd jobs: she volunteers as a test subject at the university medical research lab, works at a coffee shop, and makes photocopies at an office. She also attends a high-class bar, offering herself as a sex partner. Her landlord dislikes her, and she spends her time visiting an aloof man, Birdmann (Ewen Leslie), who is attracted to her. Although she does not return his affection, she appears to be happier when with him than at any other time.

Actors