Awake

What the hell is Awake? I had never even heard of this film until about a month ago. It just sort of came out of nowhere. One thing is certain. This thriller had the luxury of being the only film to open during the movie light Nov. 30th weekend. Would being the solo release help this little movie's box office add up? As it turns out, not really. It was buried by the plethora of films that opened the weekend before, but it still managed six jillion dollars. Not bad for a movie with very little advertising. Is Awake any good? Intimately, it isn't great, but it is efficient and with a minuscule seventy minute running time, at least you won't palpate like you wasted too practically time. In Awake, Hayden Christensen plays Clay Beresford, a well liked business man with a heart condition. In the end, Clay opts to have undetermined heart surgery by the work force of his good friend Dr. Jack Harper (Terrence Howard) instead of taking advice from his overbearing mother (Lena Olin) and allowing her reputable surgeon sidekick to perform the procedure. Financial support up Clay in his decision is his loving fiancee Surface-to-air missile (played by Jessica Alba). Stiff does go in for operation, but as he lay thither waiting for his anesthesia to take effect, a horrific reveal comes to the surface; he can feel the entire procedure. He looks unconscious, but he's actually completely aware of what's happening to him. This terrific condition is known as "anesthetic awareness." Of course, Awake has no interest in relying on this one plot gimmick alone. In that respect are several devices at play here and while many of them are silly beyond belief, the film is never drilling. At the very least it kept me, if you'll pardon the pun, awake. And I'd be lying if I aforesaid this flick didn't fool me a couple of times. I guess there's something to be said about a film that comes with no expectations. At its heart, Awake is an overstuffed thriller that doesn't recognize when to quit. It has elements of Coma, Vanilla Sky, and Malice, but it isn't as classy as those pictures, nor does it really try to be. Director Joby Harold is actually quite competent. He comes up with a few creative ways to get inside Christensen's head during the surgery scenes. The performances are adequate. Jessica Alba is actually quite good in the early goings of the delineation. She's sexy and confident, and I was quite surprised by her effectiveness. By the last act, I was kind of chuckling at her. I scarce couldn't buy into her hale persona. Christensen is decent, although his voice over work leaves a bit to be desired. Awake is a straight up thriller with twists galore, merely it's also a story about a nice guy who really should be more careful when it comes to issues of trust. As dumb as this movie got, I still institute myself somewhat entertained by it.