Opening Day: 17 April 2008

Synopsis:

In "Awake," a psychological thriller that tells the story of a man (Christensen) undergoing heart surgery while experiencing a phenomenon called "anesthetic awareness," which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. As various obstacles present themselves, his wife (Alba) must make life-altering decisions while wrestling with her own personal drama.

Movie Review:

Despite all the bad reviews I read for this film, I find myself once again in the minority. Awake is a very well written smart film that takes an easy plot and adds a twisty concept to a disturbing phenomena known as anesthetic awareness.

Starts out with Clay Beresford (Christensen), a young and brilliant multimillionaire businessman who has a serious heart condition that requires a transplant. His girlfriend Sam (Alba) is keen for him to have the surgery, but his mother Lilith (Lena Olin) is not. Dr. Jack Harper (Howard) is a good friend of Clay's, and is due to conduct the operation. However, while under the anesthetic, Clay becomes aware of his surroundings; he's awake, but he is also completely paralyzed. To combat the pain, Clay has an out of body experience, and discovers in the process that there are sinister motives behind his heart surgery.

Director Joby Harold shoots the film confidently but is only adequate in setting up the pieces and characters. There will be some eventual twists and turns which we know and probably anticipate. Though I didn’t consciously try to predict the plot, the twists and turns certainly didn’t send shockwaves down my spine. As a result it's more perfunctory action than genuine surprise.

Harold does deliver on the ‘awake surgery’ scene though, which is the centerpiece and hook of the film. With Clay’s eyes taped shut and unable to speak, unfortunately the director's only option is voiceover to tell us what’s going on. It’s a little corny, but he does as best he could considering the limitations and delivers a truly creepy scene.

Performances of Christensen, while never doing anything stunning, turns in works of some range. The contrast between the suave, confident and affable Clay at the beginning of the film, and the frightened, confused and tortured soul he becomes later on, is quite apparent. Olin gives an emotionally honest performance as Clay's mother, while Howard is his usual likeable, professional and dependable self. Christopher McDonald and Fisher Stevens also contribute sufficiently as a couple of other doctors. Alba, on the other hand, struggles.

In many ways Awake suggests that Harold is a better director than he is a writer. The film has some atmosphere, is stylishly made, and a little flourish used to indicate Clay's impending demise is quite a nice touch. But the characters are thinly drawn, the story suffers from gaps in its already weak logic, and there's something naggingly convenient about the whole thing. Overall, Awake was actually a very well put together film that didn't get much recognition. It should do well on DVD, and hopefully it will find its audience. It's a very simple well-made film, with a simple script and a great thriller. Well worth checking out.

Movie Rating:

(A simplistic storytelling that could have been a modern classic)

Review by Lokman B S