A fair generalization of Akira Kurosawa movies is that his greatest works have wonderful characterizations while his lesser works are so because they lack this. The Bad Sleep Well is no different. Performances are strong (a fine example of Toshirô Mifune‘s incredible range in particular), the Hamlet-inspired story is conceptually good, but characters are underdeveloped and the plot lacks something to draw third-party interest. By the time things start cooking naturally, most important developments are past.