Awake (2007)

Director: Joby Harold

Cast: Hayden Christensen as Clay Beresford, Jessica Alba as Sam Lockwood, Terrence Howard as Dr. Jack Harper, Lena Olin as Lilith Beresford, Christopher McDonald as Dr. Larry Lupin, Sam Robards as Clayton Beresford Sr., Arliss Howard as Dr. Jonathan Neyer, Fisher Stevens as Dr. Puttnam, Georgina Chapman as Penny Carver, David Harbour as Dracula, Steven Hinkle as Young Clay (as Stephen Hinkle), Denis O'Hare as Financial News Analyst, Charlie Hewson as Brian the Orderly, Court Young as Officer Doherty, Joseph Costa as Dr. Elbogen

Some of the hardest reviews to write are the ones where you don't know
what to say. "Awake" is one of them. Let me just start with the basics.
Do I recommend it? Yes. Is it GOOD? That's what's hard to say about
this movie. Some parts of "Awake" are good, but some are merely okay.

Like many thrillers, telling much about the plot defeats the purpose of
seeing the movie. However, I will tell as much as I can.

The story goes like this. A rich young man named Clay (Hayden
Christensen) goes into the hospital for a heart transplant, and he
suffers from anesthetic awareness (meaning he can feel and hear
everything, but can't do anything about it). This is key because what
he hears changes everything.

That's about all I can say. "Awake" is an entertaining little thriller,
and Jody Harold certainly has potential as a writer/director. His
low-key handling of the film makes for an interesting, almost dreamy
approach, but I don't know if it works like it's supposed to, because I
have a feeling that it decreases the amount of suspense that the
material warrants. That said, the unusual tone makes up for this
deficiency.

The acting is solid too. Hayden Christensen became famous for his
portrayal of Anakin Skywalker in the second and third "Star Wars"
episodes. His first outing wasn't great, and called into question his
acting ability. However, his second round with the light saber was
terrific, and his performance here shows that "Episode 2" was more
likely to be an anomaly than the norm when it comes to his acting
ability. His co-star Jessica Alba isn't as good, but it proves that she
has more acting ability than many people give her credit for (her
reputation for being a tabloid sensation and the limited acting options
that result from it are probably to blame). Terrence Howard is solid,
but he isn't given much to work with. Same goes for Lena Olin.

Personally, I think it sucks when you like a movie but a lot of that
feeling disappears when someone points out something that causes that
to decrease. Such a thing happened with me and reading a review after
watching "Awake," but I won't say it because it's still a good movie to
see.

So, is "Awake" a good movie, or just a movie with enough good points to
warrant a viewing? I'd say it's somewhere in between, leaning more
towards good.