Reviews
Awake (15)
BEST avoided by anyone about to
undergo hospital surgery and those
who like their thrillers to have a
modicum of credibility.
Awake - something
you may have difficulty keeping despite
the brief running time - begins with
alarming statistics that 30,000 of the
21m people who have general anesthesia
each year are unable to sleep because of
"anesthesia awareness".
This happens to rich Clay Beresford
(Hayden Christensen) as he undergoes
heart surgery. His running commentary,
coupled with graphic visuals as doctor
Jack Harper (Terrence Howard) slices into
flesh and removes the organ, shows his
understandable alarm at being aware of
everything that's going on. Perhaps he
should just lie back and think of sexy
Samantha (Jessica Alba), his mother's
personal assistant with whom he's been
having a passionate, but secret affair.
What might have been a heart-pounding
thriller is rendered dull and boring by the
presence of Christensen, so bland you
can't tell if he's conscious of not, and nice
to look at, but equally dull, Alba as his
squeeze.
Lena Olin strays into melodrama as his
possessive mum who'll do anything to
protect him. She needs to because
there's a wicked plot at the heart of the
movie that's deadlier than any hospital
bug. This might work if the performances
were stronger and people don't wander in
and out of the operating theatre without
any regard for a sterile environment.
Stars: Hayden Christensen, Jessica
Alba, Terrence Howard, Lena Olin,
Fisher Stevens
Running time: 84 mins
Rating: Two stars
5:44pm Thursday 3rd April 2008
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