The Perfect Sleep 2009

Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times: Easy on the eyes but brutal on the ears, The Perfect Sleep fuses Shakespearean tragedy and noir iconography into a strange, lovely, leaden ball of confusion. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: Style significantly trumps substance in The Perfect Sleep, a good-looking but convoluted homage to film noir, Russian literature and Shakespearean tragedy, among a few too many other things. Read more

Lance Goldenberg, L.A. Weekly: An ungainly fusion of dutiful homage and snarky send-up. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The disjointed story is no more comprehensible than The Big Sleep. Though Alter is no Howard Hawks and Pardoe and Sanchez are no Bogie and Bacall, this movie looks great. You won't nap through The Perfect Sleep. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: There are shadows on top of shadows. It's the film noir universe, all right. What does the title refer to? Perhaps to what you will enjoy during the film. Read more

Mark Holcomb, Time Out: Alter's film is a rare pleasure. Read more

Andrew Barker, Variety: Unfortunately, Alter's often inventive work is kneecapped by a deliriously nonsensical script, which misses the mark as both over-the-top parody and straight-faced homage, and could have been intended as either. Read more