Directed by:
Joby HaroldScreenplay:
Joby HaroldCinematography:
Russell CarpenterCast:
Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard, Lena Olin, Christopher McDonald, Sam Robards, Arliss Howard, Fisher Stevens, Georgina Chapman (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Intense psychological thriller about a man who experiences the frighteningly common surgical phenomenon 'anesthetic awareness'. Those suffering from this condition remain acutely aware of what is going on around them despite remaining completely paralysed and unable to cry out for help. When Clay (Hayden Christensen), a successful young man goes under the knife, the horror quickly sets in as he discovers that he is being murdered whilst on the operating table. The terrifying drama unfolds as his wife (Jessica Alba) waits anxiously by. (Icon Film Distribution)
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Reviews (8)
The subject is not bad at all, as it's based on a truly original idea, but in my opinion, it is too directed and played for effect. The same can be said about the screenplay. For the film to work in my eyes, it would have to abandon the traditional Hollywood thriller framework and have a much higher-quality cast. Like this, it is a stylish but pretentious game, where logic suffers in some moments. Overall impression: 45%.
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On the one hand, Awake is quite a cleverly constructed thriller with fine elements and an unforgettable atmosphere, but on the other hand, there are too many missteps, nonsense and bullshit to make it a good film (people going to the operating theatre as they please, some far-fetched twists and turns, unrealistic behaviour of the characters, etc.). I have quite mixed feelings with the result, some passages were very good, but as a whole it is a kind inconsistent and in the end it is "only" average and doesn't go anywhere higher. And yet the idea is one of the most original we could wish for...
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If we were to operate on the basis of FilmBooster genre labels, this movie would be more of a romance/drama/mystery/thriller. Whereas for the first half hour it sticks only to the first two boxes. Then comes mystery, and not long after that we have thriller. This development is Awake's greatest domain, because thanks to it we find ourselves several times running out of ideas on how the plot could continue and taking it practically from scratch. Personally, I was very pleasantly surprised by the two plot shifts, to the point where I almost forgot who was playing the main role, a fact that had worried me quite a bit at the beginning of the film. High praise indeed for the script.
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A film shot in a captivating way, with intimacy and impassioned romance that perfectly harmonize with an excellently crafted screenplay and an original idea that I may not have seen in the world of cinema before. For the first time in her life, Jessica Alba is not just an ornament, and Hayden Christensen is not a laughing stock. This fact alone is so rare that it is impossible to watch the film without enthusiasm. Add excellent supporting roles and a minute-by-minute brutal and uncompromising attack on emotions, and both Hayden and the viewer cannot help but be amazed at how everything eventually turns out. The final transformation is hardly believable, but conceptually entirely acceptable. An original and disarming film, in an intimate and heartfelt way.
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I have read a few comments here and they all mostly agree on the fact that the topic of the movie was not bad at all. If only it was made by someone with little more experience who can turn a good topic into a great thriller. The acting was ok but I kind of missed a bit more of the drama. The end is way over the top, but the story was made to shock and it actually succeeded in doing so. Although I still can’t shake off the feeling that this was just an average job.
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