Imagine a world where we didn’t actually need to sleep anymore. We’d finally have the time to do that creative side project. That one friend from college might actually train for the marathon they’ve talked about for a decade. Someone might finally read Infinite Jest! But to be alone with your thoughts and anxieties without a single moment of peace? That also sounds a little bit like a literal waking nightmare. One Assassin’s Creed director Justin Kurzel is diving into in his next movie, Morning. Laura Dern and Noah Jupe star in the film and Benedict Cumberbatch appears in a supporting role. Morning is set in a world that’s moved beyond the need for sleep. All thanks to a single pill.
To make this a little more dystopian, in addition to a pill that keeps everyone awake all the time, there’s also an artificial sun. So, really, the day never ends. A world in which humans are side-hustling into oblivion. Sounds familiar. For the movie Morning, it’s the backdrop for a story about a family, grief, and the detrimental toll this new way of life has on the people living through it.
Here’s Morning‘s synopsis, per Variety:
Ambitious Cathy (Dern) is an early proponent of the new normal–until the death of her husband Frank (Cumberbatch). As her sleepless world crumbles around her, her memories began impinging on her waking hours. Meanwhile her son Danny (Jupe), part of a new generation that has grown up without ever sleeping, is drawn into a “subversive underworld of dreamers” who begin to rebel in an attempt to reclaim their dreams. Cathy must fight to reclaim her son and confront her nightmares.
The film sounds incredibly intriguing. And we’re certainly looking forward to hearing more about it as the project develops. Cumberbatch and Dern each serve as executive producers for Morning, for which Sam Steiner wrote the script. Additionally, the upcoming film reunites Kurzel with cinematographer Adam Arkapaw. Arkapaw worked with Kurzel on Assassin’s Creed. The director also reunites with Nitram‘s costume designer, Alice Babidge.
Time to start preparing to think twice when we wish we didn’t have to sleep.
