THE FILM:

Being held involuntarily in a psychiatric ward is one of my worst fears. Steven Soderbergh kicks the dust off his camera and gets back into the thriller business with Unsane, an unconventional and entertaining film that benefits from an excellent leading performance by Claire Foy. When I heard the film was shot entirely on the iPhone 7 Plus, I was concerned this would be a tech gimmick, but the film is both technically pleasing and dramatically satisfying. Save a few slow spots in the middle of this 98-minute story, Unsane is a twisted, unexpected ride with an undercurrent of Soderbergh's expected social commentary, which this time targets health-care insurance companies.

Foy plays Sawyer Valentini, a single professional who moved away from her hometown and supportive mother Angela (Amy Irving) to escape a stalker, David (Joshua Leonard). Her interactions with men are confused; one evening she informs an online date that he will be getting laid within 30 seconds of meeting him. Once back at her apartment, Sawyer freaks when the date begins touching her. She schedules a meeting with a counselor at Highland Creek Behavioral Center and explains her situation. Sawyer unwittingly signs a release voluntarily committing herself to 24 hours of lockdown observation after the counselor assures her the forms are all "boilerplate." Sawyer is angry when she learns she will not be leaving, and buys herself another week of lockdown after lashing out at another patient, causing doctors to deem Sawyer a danger to herself and others. Sawyer soon realizes she is trapped at the hospital, and discovers her old stalker has become employed with the facility. Or has he?

Talk about an uphill battle. How does a seemingly mentally ill person convince others that she is not, in fact, mentally ill; at least in the way they think she is? Unsane weaves a tricky web full of nefarious health-care providers, sinister clinicians and wise fellow patients. Recovering heroin addict Nate Hoffman (SNL's Jay Pharoah) is actually an undercover journalist, and reveals to Sawyer that Highland Creek is scamming health-care insurance companies by locking healthy patients up and maxing out their coverage, before dumping them back on the street. To outsiders, including Angela, the hospital puts on a good front. A senior representative is even able to convince Angela that Sawyer is actually in a safe place, despite Sawyer's own rendition of her situation to Angela. The twists keep coming when several patients are murdered, and Sawyer begins to doubt her own sanity and reality, particularly concerning her stalker.

The movie may not break much new ground in regards to its central "is she crazy" plot, but it is entertaining. Wasn't Soderbergh supposed to be retiring? I am glad he didn't, because his unique filmmaking talents are certainly worth experiencing. The actors are in top form here, especially Foy, Pharoah and Juno Temple, who plays another patient, and the setting is chilling in its mundane, pedestrian terrors. Is this happening somewhere in America? The implications of such insurance scams are frightening. The film is less successful in its violent finale, when Unsane escapes the hospital for waters well traveled. The replay value is not exceptionally high here, but Unsane is a nice surprise, and fans of its director will want to check it out.

THE BLU-RAY:

PICTURE:

Leave it to Soderbergh to shoot a theatrical release on an iPhone. The 1.58:1/1080p/AVC-encoded image is more impressive than I anticipated, with several expected imperfections related to the source. The filmmakers apparently used the iPhone with only the aid of Moment lenses to create the theatrical aspect ratio. There was obviously some steadying of the footage on set and in post, but Unsane offers a unique look. There are numerous scenes shot at super-close range and at interesting, unconventional angles that traditional cameras would not be able to duplicate. This technique doesn't feel gimmicky, either, and adds to the claustrophobic atmosphere. The color scheme is somewhat jaundiced and intentionally drab, but there are plenty of fine-object details in well-lit scenes. Darker scenes offer inky blacks but detail expectedly degrades, and there is some digital noise. There are a few spots of aliasing and shimmer, but overall this is an impressive experiment.

SOUND:

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack is rather immersive: Intense sequences inside the hospital make use of the surrounds and LFE. Ambient effects like patient chatter, flicking lights and running water surround the viewer, and dialogue is clear and without distortion. The score is nicely integrated, and other than a couple of shots where the dialogue appears to stray from the lip movements (probably a source issue), this is a good mix. English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

PACKAGING AND EXTRAS:

Universal releases Unsane in a combo pack that includes the Blu-ray, a DVD and an HD digital copy. The discs are packed in a standard case that is wrapped in a slipcover. The only extra is Unsanity (4:26/HD), a brief behind-the-scenes featurette.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Steven Soderbergh's latest thriller Unsane is a twisted, unexpectedly entertaining mix of claustrophobic, mental-hospital fears and social commentary that proves more than a tech gimmick. The Blu-ray offers good picture and sound but limited supplements. With that in mind and because the replay value is limited, my advice is to Rent It.

William lives in Burlington, North Carolina, and looks forward to a Friday-afternoon matinee.