A gunshot shatters the early-morning silence on the streets of Paris as two men in balaclavas intercept a car on a drug run. In the rushed heist that follows, one of the drug carriers in the vehicle is shot. The next day, one of the thieves, Vincent (Tomer Sisley), is addressed as lieutenant in the bathroom at work. This reveal – that the robbers are really cops – is the first of many in Frédéric Jardin’s Sleepless Night.
Vincent’s bag of coke belongs to a nightclub owner named Jose Marciano (Serge Riaboukine). When Jose learns he’s been double-crossed by the police, he kidnaps Vincent’s son. He tells Vincent the stash must be returned to his club by the end of the night. No drugs, and the cop will never see his son again.
Sleepless Night is a lean, mean action film that moves at breakneck speed. Sharply choreographed chase sequences careen through the tight crowds in Jose’s extravagant club. This is an all-nighter of action: pop some caffeine and run headfirst into Jardin’s gritty world of good cops, bad cops and vicious drug dealers, all flashing under strobe lights and set to a throbbing techno beat. - Colin Geddes, Toronto International Film Festival