Loosely basing her film on ‘granny killers’ Thierry Paulin and Jean-Thierry Mathurin, who murdered a series of elderly ladies in late 1980s Paris, Claire Denis has created a deeply disturbing account of urban alienation. While revolving around the murderous exploits of Camille, a drag-nightclub performer and Raphael, his accomplice/lover, I Can’t Sleep refuses to adopt a moral stance, radically departing from its sensationalist origins.