Today, Baran bo Odar, who grew up in Erlangen, is best known as one of the two creative geniuses behind the Netflix mystery series ‘Dark’ and ‘1899’. Bo Odar already attracted attention as a film director in 2014 with the gripping cybercrime thriller ‘Who Am I’. And it was so successful that three years later he was able to follow up the glossy actioner “Sleepless – A Deadly Night” for the first time in English and financed with American money.
“Sleepless – A Deadly Night” will be broadcast today, January 5, 2024 at 10:25 PM on RTL 2. The station offers a repeat that same evening at 3:45 am. Alternatively, the FSK 16 title is available on Blu-ray and DVD from online retailers such as Amazon. It’s also available to stream there as paid video-on-demand:
If you’re an Amazon Prime customer, you can watch the film there too free streaming*. All you have to do is register for the seven-day free trial of the FilmTotal channel. If you do not want to cancel again, you will pay 3.99 euros per month after the trial period.
Staging à la Michael Mann
Hollywood stars such as Jamie Foxx (“Spider-Man: No Way Home”), “Stranger Things” Sheriff David Harbor (“Black Widow”) and Michelle Monaghan (“Mission: Impossible III”) starred in front of the camera.
‘Sleepless’ may not be a real sensation – especially when it comes to the fairly predictable story in the tradition of works like ’96 Hours’ and ‘Die Hard’. In any case, the thriller, which is visually and atmospherically reminiscent of the work of Michael Mann (“Miami Vice”, “Heat”), offers committed stars in elaborately staged action scenes with pace and tension. Our FILMSTARTS review gives it a solid three out of five stars.
‘Sleepless’ on RTL 2: that is the story
Vincent Downs (Foxx) and Sean Cass (Tip “TI” Harris) are corrupt detectives in Las Vegas. By embezzling and reselling drugs seized during arrests, they earn a significant additional income. But with their latest coup, the duo is pushing their previous luck in these matters a little too much.
Vincent and Sean raid a cocaine shipment to make eight million dollars worth of loot. The next day, the two take over the case themselves so that they can destroy all evidence against them. However, Jennifer Bryant (Monaghan), a smart cop who investigates criminal officers, suspects what happened and comes after Vincent with her partner (Harbour). However, he has much more serious problems. Because he was recognized by the great merchants who were relieved of their goods.
To get their drugs back, the gangsters kidnap Vincent’s teenage son Thomas (Octavius J. Johnson). In order for the boy to survive, the cop must hand over the drugs to casino boss Rubino (Dermot Mulroney) before passing them on to sadistic gang boss Rob Novak (Scoot McNairy). Everything has been arranged, but then the bag with the coke that Vincent had hidden in a public toilet suddenly disappears…
“Sleepless – A Deadly Night” is a remake
Although the film is set in Las Vegas, only a small portion was actually shot in the American gambling metropolis. Baran bo Odar shot most of its scenes in Atlanta, Georgia, which was much cheaper for such a production. Furthermore, blocking off entire streets to capture the large-scale final scene on celluloid would have been extremely difficult or even impossible in the relatively narrow and winding city center of Las Vegas.
Frédéric Jardin’s 2011 French-Belgian-Luxembourgish crime thriller ‘Sleepless Night’ served as the template for ‘Sleepless – A Deadly Night’ and Andrea Berloff’s Im (‘Straight Outta Compton’) for the remake. plot is largely retained, but the action moves to the US. But as expected, everything in the Hollywood version is more than just a little bigger and more spectacularly arranged.
For anyone who likes Sleepless, it might be worth checking out the original. And not just to discover the differences. Certainly, at Jamie Foxx & Co. it is much louder, more colorful and louder. In terms of various story details and the drawing of some characters, the European version clearly offers more depth and detail. In the opinion of the author of these lines, one or two clichés about corrupt police officers are also much more cleverly avoided or at least presented more subtly.
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Author:
Source : Film Starts
I am Dawid Malan, a news reporter for 24 Instant News. I specialize in celebrity and entertainment news, writing stories that capture the attention of readers from all walks of life. My work has been featured in some of the world’s leading publications and I am passionate about delivering quality content to my readers.
