SANITY FARE
Soderbergh uses iPhone to focus on psychological horror
MOVIES
BERLIN — Steven Soderbergh's “Unsane” lands squarely in the horror category as its heroine is falsely imprisoned in a mental institution. The movie can also boast an unexpected topicality as it vividly illustrates how violence against women is often ignored or excused.
Sawyer Valentini (Claire Foy of “The Crown”) is locked up after a therapist commits her “for observation” — after one session.
What's worse, the reason for her anxiety — a stalker — turns up inside the hospital as well. And no one will believe her.
“I'm interested in these kind of power dynamics,” Soderbergh, 55, said, “and what happens to people who get trapped in a system that is designed to strip them of their identity.”
Explained co-screenwriter David Greer, “We saw what can happen in the movie really happened to me. I went to see my doctor during a physical and he said, `Do you feel suicidal?'
“I said, `Yes, every day,' and he said, `You realize I can have you committed for saying that?' I said, `I take that all back.' ”
It happens, he said, because “there's a business being run here, because health care is a business in America. These centers are run for profit and, like jails, they need patients and they need insurance.”
It was his screenwriting partner Jonathan Bernstein who “came up with the idea that Sawyer's stalker is in there, too.”
For Soderbergh, whose recent “Mosaic” on HBO was presented with an interactive app, “Unsane” marks another first in his continued application of technological challenges: He filmed the movie on his iPhone.
“The positive for me is I can put the lens anywhere I want in a matter of seconds. I don't have to secure it to the ceiling or cut a hole in the wall to get a specific shot.
“I can rehearse — and immediately go into shooting, which keeps the energy level going.
“But there are a couple of things you have to deal with, starting with it's very sensitive to vibration. For the scene where Claire is talking on the phone, she couldn't put the phone down hard because it would shake the camera.
“An iPhone offers a massive depth of field and selective focus is a tool you can use often. So we have a shot of Claire's mom's wedding ring.
“Now that I've done this,” he said, “it's going to be tricky to go back.”