LoginWell, it has been a while since I have seen such a convoluted thriller... The best to do with this flick is to know as least as possible about it before watching the damned thing. Basically, there were 4 different parts. The first part was just an agonizing introduction of the characters. Indeed, the story centered on Hayden Christensen and his relationship with his hot girlfriend portrayed by Jessica Alba, his relationship with his annoying and castrating mother portrayed by Lena Olin, his relationship with his friendly doctor portrayed by Terrence Howard, his medical situation, his job and I almost forgot to mention, the guy was filthy rich! That was a lot of information and they kept throwing all this information at us in just about 20 minute and it was obviously a little bit too much to handle. Anyway, you had then the 2nd part which was the best one. Indeed, the main character got this vital surgery and instead of falling asleep as he should, he got into some ‘anesthetic awareness’ meaning that during the anesthesia, he was paralyzed but fully conscious during the procedure and, suddenly, the whole thing became quite fascinating. I mean, this whole concept of ‘anesthetic awareness’ was just very well directed and acted and it was really interesting to watch. However, instead of going further in this direction, and explore the physical and psychological implications of such a condition, they decided to throw some unbelievable twists... And that's when the 3rd part came in... Indeed, out of nowhere, it turned out that the whole surgical team and his brand new wife were comploting against him to get his money! Seriously, it was just so lame and ridiculous… However, it was pretty obvious that even though they kept telling you that he was going to die, he was obviously going to survive because, you know, it is a Hollywood production after all and such movies are always quite predictable, I'm afraid. And then you had the 4th and final part with yet another major twist... In this hospital, who could provide a matching heart for our poor young fellow ? The mother, of course!!! I figured this out pretty easily but I was wondering how they would play this out and check this out... She swallowed some pills and, within 2 hours, she managed to call another surgeon, to die, a complete new surgical team came onsite and managed to transplant her heart into her son's body. Seriously, it was quite impressive how ridiculous it was... In my opinion, the subject was actually really interesting and it could have resulted in a good movie but, unfortunately, they decided to make this a thriller and they kept throwing some unbeliveable twists during the whole thing. To conclude, if you like this kind of far-fetched thrillers, you may end up enjoying it more than I did but, in my opinion, it was pretty average and it is not really worth a look.
Awake Reviews
An average movie
Posted : 13 years, 1 month ago on 21 April 2012 06:32
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Awake review
Posted : 14 years, 8 months ago on 26 September 2010 12:18
well, i must honestly say... that i love this movie, he is good, but i don't like jessica alba in this movie...
i like her, in movies like honey and so, but the part of the 'bad' person, she can't play it authentic...
i like her, in movies like honey and so, but the part of the 'bad' person, she can't play it authentic...
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An out of body experience.
Posted : 15 years, 8 months ago on 7 October 2009 08:57
''Am I supposed to still hear you?''
The story focuses on a man who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His mother must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them, while trying to unfold the story hidden behind her son's young wife.
Hayden Christensen: Clay Beresford
Awake, the thriller by first-time director Joby Harold, takes off from a grisly real-life phenomenon called anesthetic awareness. This is when patients are unaccountably left fully conscious — and physically paralyzed — during the process of surgery, thus Harold, whom also wrote the script, has spun a preposterously entertaining web from this grisly germ of an idea, and manages to hold us in a vice-like grip for pretty much the entire length of the ordeal. How often can you say of a Hollywood thriller that you don't have a clue what's going to happen next? Awake is brazenly indifferent to plausibility, but you can't help but admire the film's audacity. Along with unique plot twists, Harold throws Hitchcock-esque flourishes and elements of Greek tragedy into the mix like a crazed chef adding ingredients to a new dish. .
Harold brings energy and focus to the scenes that he transcends the subject matter and gives it an almost surreal intensity, and the performances are strong enough to keep the film's evolution from capsizing it. Jessica Alba is suitably luscious and beguiling (her role gives new meaning to the term heartbreaker), and Lena Olin and Terence Howard are both in fine form. As the unfortunate victim of anesthetic awareness, Hayden Christensen comes into his own as a performer (having mercifully managed to escape the Mark Hamil curse: that of being horribly miscast by George Lucas). Christensen has an unusually expressive face (the camera takes to him), and he can convey emotion without ever appearing to do much—fortunately, because the film hinges around his internal struggle, and on our feelings of empathy for him.
Awake is a white-knuckle movie experience if ever there was one (it even carries a viewer warning), with some of the most sheerly visceral scenes of horror ever committed to celluloid. Watching someone undergoing open-heart surgery while fully conscious (and able to feel the incision) is enough to frazzle the nerves of the most hardened horror veterans, and this film is certainly not for the squeamish. Too bad the loopy plot (and the melodramatic character revelations, which are really just tired genre conventions) finally stretches our credibility to breaking point. As a result, Awake lacks a strong climax, and as a roller-coaster ride it doesn't have enough emotional depth to be fully engaging. But for most of its length it's close to a pop classic, and probably the best metaphysical story around. In fact, Harold better watch out or he may wind up as the next M. Night Shyamalan, which is not necessarily a good thing. Awake has so many twists it makes you dizzy, as if you are the one going for surgery.
''I think my new heart will love you as much as my old one.''
The story focuses on a man who suffers "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed, during heart surgery. His mother must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them, while trying to unfold the story hidden behind her son's young wife.
Hayden Christensen: Clay Beresford
Awake, the thriller by first-time director Joby Harold, takes off from a grisly real-life phenomenon called anesthetic awareness. This is when patients are unaccountably left fully conscious — and physically paralyzed — during the process of surgery, thus Harold, whom also wrote the script, has spun a preposterously entertaining web from this grisly germ of an idea, and manages to hold us in a vice-like grip for pretty much the entire length of the ordeal. How often can you say of a Hollywood thriller that you don't have a clue what's going to happen next? Awake is brazenly indifferent to plausibility, but you can't help but admire the film's audacity. Along with unique plot twists, Harold throws Hitchcock-esque flourishes and elements of Greek tragedy into the mix like a crazed chef adding ingredients to a new dish. .
Harold brings energy and focus to the scenes that he transcends the subject matter and gives it an almost surreal intensity, and the performances are strong enough to keep the film's evolution from capsizing it. Jessica Alba is suitably luscious and beguiling (her role gives new meaning to the term heartbreaker), and Lena Olin and Terence Howard are both in fine form. As the unfortunate victim of anesthetic awareness, Hayden Christensen comes into his own as a performer (having mercifully managed to escape the Mark Hamil curse: that of being horribly miscast by George Lucas). Christensen has an unusually expressive face (the camera takes to him), and he can convey emotion without ever appearing to do much—fortunately, because the film hinges around his internal struggle, and on our feelings of empathy for him.
Awake is a white-knuckle movie experience if ever there was one (it even carries a viewer warning), with some of the most sheerly visceral scenes of horror ever committed to celluloid. Watching someone undergoing open-heart surgery while fully conscious (and able to feel the incision) is enough to frazzle the nerves of the most hardened horror veterans, and this film is certainly not for the squeamish. Too bad the loopy plot (and the melodramatic character revelations, which are really just tired genre conventions) finally stretches our credibility to breaking point. As a result, Awake lacks a strong climax, and as a roller-coaster ride it doesn't have enough emotional depth to be fully engaging. But for most of its length it's close to a pop classic, and probably the best metaphysical story around. In fact, Harold better watch out or he may wind up as the next M. Night Shyamalan, which is not necessarily a good thing. Awake has so many twists it makes you dizzy, as if you are the one going for surgery.
''I think my new heart will love you as much as my old one.''
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not that great
Posted : 17 years, 1 month ago on 28 April 2008 10:51
The plot is simple, but reveals pretty much what is going to happen. As I don't want to spoil the movie for others, it's enough to say that 1 out of 700 people that undergo surgery find him/herself awake during the procedure, but unable to call for help.
If I divulge anything else, the script itself becomes obvious, so because of that, I found there were no surprises, no twists.
The acting sucks! Only Lena Olin is worth watching. Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba are mind-blowingly bad. And Terrence Howard is possibly worse.
I found the premise very interesting, but it was, in my opinion, badly scripted - there are several plot holes.
Interesting to watch for the story, but no other reason really.
If I divulge anything else, the script itself becomes obvious, so because of that, I found there were no surprises, no twists.
The acting sucks! Only Lena Olin is worth watching. Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba are mind-blowingly bad. And Terrence Howard is possibly worse.
I found the premise very interesting, but it was, in my opinion, badly scripted - there are several plot holes.
Interesting to watch for the story, but no other reason really.
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