DVD Review: Awake

DVD Reviews

By Patrick Luce Mar 10, 2008, 12:20 GMT

Even if the plot is a bit familiar and the acting a bit grating, Awake manages to hold your attention thanks to some decent twists and turns. It even manages some nail-biting thrills at different points of the movie.

Written and directed by Joby Harold, Awake stars Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard and Lena Olin.Since the main reason to watch the movie is the twist and turns, the film’s plot is hard to detail, and I don’t want to spoil any of it. Basically, the film deals with the phenomenon of “Anesthetic Awareness” – which is when a patient is fully awake and conscious during surgery, but paralyzed. They can feel all the pain of what is happening without being able to scream, move or stop the surgery.This phenomenon is just the backdrop that Harold uses to set the scene for a somewhat noir film that follows Clay Beresford as he endures a heart transplant while completely awake.Beresford (Christensen) is a young, rich businessman with a heart problem and a rare blood type. Following a heart attack, he has been awaiting a heart transplant and preparing to for the worse. He is engaged to Sam Lockwood (Alba), but has to keep their relationship a secret from his overbearing mother (Olin). His best friend just happens to be his heart surgeon Dr. Jack Harper (Howard) – who has convinced Clay to get on with living while he can and marry Sam regardless of what his mother might think.On their wedding night, Clay gets that important call that the hospital has a heart and it is time for the surgery. He jokes around with the doctors as he is taken into the operating room, and is put under. The problem is he quickly finds out that he is completely awake as the surgery starts.In the film’s most chilling scene, Clay (through voice-over by Christensen) takes the viewer through the pain he is feeling as the doctors cut into his chest, break his ribs and start the heart-transplant. Harold then moves the actor out of his body for the twist and turns of the film – which at times give the film a dream-like quality and makes it somewhat surreal. This also helps the movie not get boring by giving Christensen something else to do rather than just lay on the table with his chest open.Despite being somewhat predictable, I really enjoyed Awake. Harold and cinematographer Russell Carpenter (Titanic) do an excellent job of giving the film an original look while having it feel like a throwback to the classic noir genre. The director keeps the movie’s pace moving along so that you don’t have time to really get an easy feeling. This fast pace helps the movie from feeling too familiar or giving you too much time to figure out where the plot is heading. The actors do a good job in the film – even if Alba did receive a Razzie Award nomination for it and Christensen plays the same old whiny character he has in other films.The film does have some problems, but they weren’t enough to ruin the overall enjoyment. The ending gets extremely silly (again I don’t want to give anything away), and some of the flashbacks during the surgery feel a little too surreal. Christensen’s voice-over is also weak and almost laughable as he screams during the surgery. However, the overall concept is enough to keep the scene disturbing.The DVD comes with some decent special features including commentary with Harold; deleted scenes with optional commentary; a behind the scenes look at the making of the movie; and storyboard to film comparison. Despite a familiar plot, Awake is a movie that manages to entertain and thrill. The film holds your interest and might keep you guessing where it is heading.Awake is now available at Amazon. As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.

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DVD Review: Awake

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