COME TRUE COMES CLEAN

Julia Sarah Stone as Sarah

We all live in a world where we are all still new and curious about the world of sleep.  Even though scientists such as Matt Walker have come forth with books such as Why We Sleep, we still need more research and data to discover new things.  It is good to see that there are films such as The Nightmare by director Rodney Ascher who has taken the opportunity to research sleep paralysis which has mystified the inhabitants of our earth to this day.  The subjects that he had interviewed in his film all came with the same common denominator.  That being a dark man entering your room while you are in a state of sleep paralysis and you are unable to breathe, talk or move while this man is slowly getting close to you.  Then his eyes start to glow without pupils and then that is when you are most terrified that you wake yourself out of this state.  Then you become confused as to why you have these states of mind while you are asleep and when finding answers to this mystical world afterwards.  This is one of the reasons why director Anthony Scott Burns was inspired to make this film Come True which premiered at the Fantasia Film Festival.

Come True focuses on an 18-year old runaway Sarah, played by Julia Sarah Stone, who is experiencing problems with sleeping.   Sarah goes through sleep paralysis herself where she enters a dark world of inhuman faceless humans of Pan’s Labyrinth quality.  Despite looking for other places to sleep other than her bed, she maintains the idea that everything is going to be okay especially with the support of her friend Zoe, played by Tedra Rogers.   Sarah then finds a sleep study clinic where she can find a regular place to crash. When she tries to find out the purpose of the sleep study, the researchers do not budge and tries to keep things quiet.  She then meets Jeremy, played by Landon Liboiron, who secretly admires Sarah from afar but then finds out that he is one of the people researching within the sleep study.  This is where Sarah tries to figure out what is wrong with her and what is she is going through and her only way to finding out is to get close to Jeremy who has already stalked her.

Come True reveals one of Canada’s biggest secret.  That being the talent behind actress Julia Sarah Stone.  She is just remarkable in this film by playing a young adult trying to find answers to her problems in a world where people believe that they do have the answers for her.  Her physical expression and the facial remarks she has without getting sufficient sleep in her young life is just top-notch.  When she lashes out on people such as Jeremy and realize that they have another agenda, she becomes really funny and wise.  The problem though is the lack of sleep she is getting is making her delirious and hallucinate which causes her to pass out unexpectedly or sleepwalk to far places.  Julia Sarah Stone is so engaging that you can’t wait for her to come out of her sleep and what she has up her sleeve.  We can see here on FERNTV that she is going to be someone to reckon with just like her character Sarah in this film because she acts her age.

What makes Come True impressive what director Anthony Scott Burns brings to the table.  The worlds he creates when Sarah goes into her sleep paralysis is surreal because it’s the truth.  It is a different world that many cannot relate but those who experience this sort of thing will just be as spooked as Sarah.  The mood that Burns creates in this film is a lot like David Cronenberg especially when it comes to the monitors that follow the dreams of the sleep study’s patients which reminds you of Videodrome with its stylish colour and contrast.  The way Cronenberg introduces new bizarre yet innovative technologies to his films is similar to what Burns does in Come True as he innovates technology to monitor the sleep of Sarah.  It’s like a director’s narrative that bizarre things lead to bizarre outcomes.

In addition to the mood, it always felt that Sarah was alone in the world or in a bubble with certain people like Seth Brundle in The Fly.  The score which was done by Electric Youth gives Come True a Nicolas Winding Refn feeling seen in his films Drive and The Neon Demon.  There is nothing glamorous about being sleep deprived but Burns makes the theme of the film to be like a coming of age party for Sarah in the film and coincidentally for Julia Sarah Stone who plays her because she is on her way in becoming the next star with Burns not too far behind.