Awake is a thriller (not sure if it's supposed to be a horror so I'll call it that) about a rich young guy who undergoes a heart transplant but is AWAKE during the entire procedure and can feel what they do to him, when they cut open his chest and he can hear what the surgical team is discussing.
He suffers a phenomenon called "anesthetic awareness" which leaves him paralysed and unable to move or scream to alert them to the fact that he's not unconscious like he's supposed to be.
Apparently 1 in 700 surgery patients go through this.....boy, am I glad I'm not one of them!!
The movie starts with a scene in the operating room and Dr. Jack Harper, played by Terence Howard, tells us:
"At 6:32 this morning, on Thursday the first of November, Clayton Beresford Junior died on my operating table"
He then goes on to tell us that the day had started like any normal day so what we see throughout is what led to this "supposed" death.
Throughout the movie, I'm pissed off with knowing that Clayton Beresford dies! How could they?? That is like spoiling the entire movie!
Then towards the end, the movie takes a couple of unexpected twists & turns and they sort of redeem themselves. Okay, here's a little bit about what happens......not too much spoilers, I promise!
We are introduced to the love birds Clayton (Hayden Christensen) & Samantha (Jessica Alba).
The two are obviously very much in love and Jessica is this sweet and perfect, beautiful girlfriend.
Now I have a problem with that, why is Jessica Alba always the sweet girl? This girl will never get an Oscar coz she's never required to "act". For me, whether she's in a movie or on the red carpet, there's no difference!
The only thing wrong with Clay & Sam's relationship is that it's being kept a secret from Clay's mother, Lilith (Lena Olin) because Clayton believes that his mother will not approve. Samantha is also Lilith's assistant.
Eventually, Clayton gathers enough strength to tell his mother and the news are not well received but he decides to go ahead and marry Sam.
Clayton also insists on having Dr Harper operate on him, instead of the "A" list doctor his mother has chosen....
"He's my friend, Mother, I trust him, I really wish you'd start trusting me"
On the wedding night, he gets called to the hospital....a donor has been found so he's getting a new heart! That's when the drama begins.
Clayton being carried to the operating room....there is something about this scene. You see it for the first time and it looks normal, until they show it to us again. You almost want to slap yourself for not having noticed something......watch the movie to see!
Clayton in theatre....he's not under....he's awake!
From here onwards, we hear him trying to alert them to the fact that he's awake....they can't hear him, we can!
Quote:
"Wait! Am I suppose to be asleep right now? Hold on. Guys I-- I can still hear you. Am I suppose to be able to still hear you? Wait..wait..wait somethings wrong. "
This is Clayton's out of body character who takes us through what is "really" going on & why he ended up on the operating table when he did.
It is all totally unexpected and there is a bit of suspense, gross moments during the surgery & you will scream with him when he actually feels his heart being removed from him. The love/hate relationship we have with his mother, whom I suspected of being in love with her son.
It's not a perfect movie but it's definitely worth seeing (even if it is just so that you can criticise it) so please check out the trailer below and hire the DVD!!!
My overall rating: 3/5
The movie's ending is a bit of a let down.
They could have explored it further and had awesome explosive moments but they seemed to be in a bit of a hurry to end it.
The producers had an opportunity to push the "acting" out of lazy Jessica Alba by revealing how she and Clayton deal with "the truth" but instead things end way too sooner. Okay, I'ma shut up now, go get the movie!
P.S. Please.
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