Awake (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
30,000 out of every 21,000,000 patients experience 'anesthetic awareness' every year. I know, horrifying. Unfortunately, for firm chief Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen), he is one of these people. He may be paralyzed, but his mind is awake & aware of everything going on around him. During the procedure, a melodrama unfolds in which his wife, his mother, and best friend harbor some deep, dark secrets. Written & directed by Joby Harold, Awake's plot may be preposterous; but the entire film held my attention; and I was thoroughly entertained by it.
Clay still lives with his rich, domineering mother (Lena Olin), and is fearful to tell her about his recent engagement to her own personal secretary, Sam (Jessica Alba). Though they're in love, he believes his mother (who seems to want him all to herself) would be against the union. But Clay's clock is ticking (literally & figuratively). Warned by his good friend, Dr. Jack Howard (Terrence Howard) that a heart transplant is necessary, telling his mom about Sam and/or outright marrying her will have to be an expedited process.
After marrying at midnight in secret, Clay gets the all-important phone call that a heart is ready for him. Throwing caution to the wind, he & his new wife rush to the hospital to get prepped for the surgery that Dr. Howard will undertake. At the hospital, Clay's mother is informed about the marriage AND who will be performing the procedure. She's not a happy woman; in particular, with the hastiness in which he's decided to let Dr. Howard (a man with pending malpractice lawsuits) perform the life-threatening surgery. Still, Clay sticks to his instincts; the surgery will proceed as he wants. However, while wife & mom sit patiently in the waiting room ... something goes awry. A replacement anesthesiologist shows up, the surgery is disrupted, and a plot full of twists & turns unfolds for us.
'Awake' isn't so much about this man and his painful awareness that his chest is being ripped open, as much as it's a story about deceit. I was surprised about this. Then again, I knew next to nothing about the movie going into it. Yes, some things play out and you think 'oh, how convenient', or 'that would never happen', or 'oh, how silly'. But I have to tell you, sick as a dog as I am, I was on the edge of my seat with real palpable suspense. The likelihood of all this truly happening in the real world is sort of irrelevant. This is a thriller, and AS a thriller, it succeeds. And not only does it succeed as a thriller, but the set-up to the story and how it plays out is fairly original. Unless illness has clouded my own awareness, I have to say I didn't predict what would eventually happen.
2 issues with the film: 1) Clay panics & yells when the scalpel does its' job, but you'd think there would be a lot more blood-curdling screams, and a bit more ... well, blood. 2) Though the very ending is effective, the film's credibility & suspense DOES drop-off a bit in the last 25 min. or so. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised. More things go right, then go wrong. Clay's out-of-body experiences are intelligently handled. Hayden Christensen is fine here, though, ironically, he's more effective when asleep on the surgical table (indicative of his recent performances). Alba is stellar. Terrence Howard is great as the conflicted surgeon. And Lena Olin is quite good as the mother who's put in a position to risk everything she has for the survival of her own flesh & blood. I say, check this movie out.
Clay still lives with his rich, domineering mother (Lena Olin), and is fearful to tell her about his recent engagement to her own personal secretary, Sam (Jessica Alba). Though they're in love, he believes his mother (who seems to want him all to herself) would be against the union. But Clay's clock is ticking (literally & figuratively). Warned by his good friend, Dr. Jack Howard (Terrence Howard) that a heart transplant is necessary, telling his mom about Sam and/or outright marrying her will have to be an expedited process.
After marrying at midnight in secret, Clay gets the all-important phone call that a heart is ready for him. Throwing caution to the wind, he & his new wife rush to the hospital to get prepped for the surgery that Dr. Howard will undertake. At the hospital, Clay's mother is informed about the marriage AND who will be performing the procedure. She's not a happy woman; in particular, with the hastiness in which he's decided to let Dr. Howard (a man with pending malpractice lawsuits) perform the life-threatening surgery. Still, Clay sticks to his instincts; the surgery will proceed as he wants. However, while wife & mom sit patiently in the waiting room ... something goes awry. A replacement anesthesiologist shows up, the surgery is disrupted, and a plot full of twists & turns unfolds for us.
'Awake' isn't so much about this man and his painful awareness that his chest is being ripped open, as much as it's a story about deceit. I was surprised about this. Then again, I knew next to nothing about the movie going into it. Yes, some things play out and you think 'oh, how convenient', or 'that would never happen', or 'oh, how silly'. But I have to tell you, sick as a dog as I am, I was on the edge of my seat with real palpable suspense. The likelihood of all this truly happening in the real world is sort of irrelevant. This is a thriller, and AS a thriller, it succeeds. And not only does it succeed as a thriller, but the set-up to the story and how it plays out is fairly original. Unless illness has clouded my own awareness, I have to say I didn't predict what would eventually happen.
2 issues with the film: 1) Clay panics & yells when the scalpel does its' job, but you'd think there would be a lot more blood-curdling screams, and a bit more ... well, blood. 2) Though the very ending is effective, the film's credibility & suspense DOES drop-off a bit in the last 25 min. or so. Otherwise, I was pleasantly surprised. More things go right, then go wrong. Clay's out-of-body experiences are intelligently handled. Hayden Christensen is fine here, though, ironically, he's more effective when asleep on the surgical table (indicative of his recent performances). Alba is stellar. Terrence Howard is great as the conflicted surgeon. And Lena Olin is quite good as the mother who's put in a position to risk everything she has for the survival of her own flesh & blood. I say, check this movie out.