Unsane follows the life of Sawyer (Claire Foy), a young and successful woman who is forced to leave her hometown to escape a troubled past and begin a new job. When her nightmarish past appears to have followed her, she begins to doubt her perception of reality. With seemingly no one ready to believe her and the authorities unable or unwilling to help, she must confront her fears head on – with drastic consequences.
Claire Foy leads Steven Soderbergh's latest thriller, Unsane
It’s very easy to visit the cinema to escape from reality and experience another life for a short time – but what if what you’re seeing hits home harder than expected? We have partnered with psychologist Honey Langcaster-James to take a deep dive into getting rid of self-doubt and learning to trust your instincts.
- If you find yourself doubting your own sanity, be reassured that the people who really should be worrying hardly ever question themselves or their beliefs. The very fact that you’re not 100% sure suggests you may well have reason to doubt. Trust yourself.
- Things in life are rarely black and white. Your opinions, perceptions and beliefs matter, even if they differ from others. Know that it’s perfectly okay if things seem wrong to you, but not to others. You have every right to follow through with what feels and seems right for you.
- To ensure that others can’t manipulate you psychologically, you need to have a good understanding of what you believe in, what you stand for and what your principles are. Try a simple writing exercise by completing the following sentences “I believe in…” “I know that…” “I stand for…”. If you know your own mind, you can’t be swayed from it.
- Know who you can trust to seek validation from when you are in doubt and want to seek a second opinion. We all need to turn to someone on occasion; the important thing is to know how to turn to the right person.
- Assess your relationships—be they with family members, loved ones or friends—in order to determine what relationships are mutually beneficial. It’s important to figure out who you can trust, who will be honest and supportive and who only wants the best for you.
- Have you ever had the experience where something has gone wrong and you’ve thought to yourself “I wish I had trusted my instincts in the first place”? Most people discount their gut instincts and this makes them more likely to fall prey to the influence of others. Learn to trust your gut without questioning yourself, it’s invariably based on something happening in reality.
- Be aware that sometimes people try to convince us of things to suit their own purpose. If you ever feel like someone is twisting things to try to force you to perceive things a certain way, then alarm bells should be ringing.
- Your perceptions of situations, people, and relationships matter. If things don’t ‘look’ right to you, trust yourself. When all is said and done, it’s really only you who completely has your own best interests at heart.
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Unsane is directed by Academy Award-nominated director Steven Soderbergh (Logan Lucky, Erin Brockovich), stars Claire Foy (The Crown), Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project), Jay Pharoah (Ride Along), Juno Temple (Atonement), Aimee Mullins (Stranger Things), and Amy Irving (Traffic).
Unsane is in UK cinemas now.