Australian feature film Sleeping Beauty has shocked viewers and received mixed reaction from critics at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

The work of first-time director and novelist Julia Leigh, billed as an erotic thriller, has left some viewers speechless with its graphic look at the sordid sex life of a young high-class escort.

The film is in the running for the coveted Palme d'Or and is among 19 movies competing at the 64th edition of the festival, which runs until May 22 on the French Riviera.

The erotically-charged movie stars Sucker Punch's Emily Browning and is one of two first-time films in competition. The other first is Michael, by Austrian filmmaker Markus Schleinzer.

But Leigh's film has been poorly-received at Cannes, with Awards Daily saying the film was dull and anything but erotic.

The Wrap website says the best thing about the film is how disturbing it is, while the biggest problem is how boring it is.

Leigh, who wrote the novel The Hunter which is being made into a film this year, is also one of four women directors in the running for the top prize, the highest number ever in the competition.

Steering the Palme d'Or jury this year is US actor and director Robert de Niro, while South Korean director Boon Joon-Ho is chairing the panel that picks the winner of the Camera d'Or prize for best first film.

- ABC/wires