Movie Review: Awake

Starring:
Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Lena Olin, Terrence Howard, Fisher Stevens, Arliss Howard, Christopher McDonald

Director:
Joby Harold

MPAA Rating:
R for language, an intense disturbing situation, and brief drug use.

Release Date:
November 2007

Synopsis:
While undergoing a heart transplant, Clay experiences "anesthetic awareness", a condition that allows him to hear and feel everything that's happening to him but leaves him paralyzed and unable to do anything about it. From his unique and painful vantage point, Clay learns troubling truths about his closest friends and loved ones.

My Two Cents:
I love thrillers, and I had been waiting for Awake because the trailer was very intriguing. The thought of having open heart surgery is frightening, but being awake through the whole process because you experience anesthetic awareness is truly terrifying. I thought the trailer already gave too much away, but it’s still an enjoyable movie.

It will not take you too long to predict most of the events in this movie. You already have the spoilerrific trailer, and even if you haven’t watched it you’ll still guess everything. Also, one of the bigger plot twists happens relatively early on, leaving almost zero room for surprises. Hell, you already know Clay (Hayden Christensen) dies in the first minute of the movie. Yeah, deal with it.

Just like in The Invisible, the writers toy with the idea that when you’re near death you can exit your body and wander around. Clay spends most of the movie having his life flash before his eyes, backwards, connecting the dots to reveal every event leading to his murder. All the hints from his killers were there, from the beginning, but he was not focused and realized them too late.



I’ve watched Star Wars Episode II and III more times than I would admit, so it’s hard not thinking about Anakin Skywalker every time I see Hayden Christensen in a movie. He’s a bit stiff in Awake, and not just because he’s paralyzed while being operated on. He’s like a soulless robot. I still like him, but he needs to improve. Jessica Alba’s role could have been played by anyone. If you take the hotness away you’re left with another robot. Natalie Portman she is not. Terrance Howard is my favorite actor here.

While it won’t win any awards and it made poorly at the box office, I’ll admit I enjoyed it. The semi-supernatural aspects of it, even though they have been made before, were still intriguing and fun to watch. Real-life anesthesiologists really hated the film for its scientific inaccuracies, but I’m no doctor so who gives a shit? If you don’t mind watching a thriller that’s not psychologically challenging or filled with tension, you might have a good time with Awake.

Score: