The term "gaslighting" became a common phrase throughout the 2016US election, during which Donald Trump's psychological manipulation had Americans questioning their own sanity. For anyone with that fresh on their mind, the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh's new movie might be especially stressful to watch. In Unsane, a woman afraid of her stalker is committed into an institution where she's forced into thinking she might be the one who's actually insane.
Even the trailer—given the conversation of abuse that's permeated from the entertainment industry—is difficult to watch.
This is the first look at Soderbergh's mysterious new project that was shot entirely on iPhones.
“I think this is the future,” he told Indiewire of this method of shooting. “Anybody going to see this movie who has no idea of the backstory to the production will have no idea this was shot on the phone. That’s not part of the conceit.”
He even said that, after shooting this film on an iPhone, it could be something he continues to do in the future. “I’d have to have a pretty good reason not to be thinking about that first… There’s a philosophical obstacle a lot of people have about the size of the capture device. I don’t have that problem," he told Indiewire. "I look at this as potentially one of the most liberating experiences that I’ve ever had as a filmmaker, and that I continue having. The gets that I felt moment to moment were so significant that this is, to me, a new chapter.”
Unsane, starring Claire Foy, is due out on 23 March.
Matt Miller is a Brooklyn-based culture/lifestyle writer and music critic whose work has appeared in Esquire, Forbes, The Denver Post, and documentaries.
