Awake (2007 Film)

''Awake'' is a 2007 American conspiracy thriller film written and directed by Joby Harold in his directorial debut. The film stars Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard and Lena Olin. The narrative follows Clay Beresford, a wealthy young man who becomes conscious but paralyzed during heart surgery—a phenomenon known as anesthetic awareness—and gradually uncovers a plot that endangers his life and trust in those around him.

The film was released theatrically in the United States and Canada on November 30, 2007, by The Weinstein Company and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It received largely negative reviews from critics but performed moderately well at the box office, grossing approximately $32.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $8.6 million.

At the 28th Golden Raspberry Awards, Alba was nominated for Worst Actress, while she and Christensen received a nomination for Worst Screen Combo.

Plot

Clay Beresford Jr., a young billionaire, is secretly in a relationship with Samantha "Sam" Lockwood, his mother's personal assistant. Despite opposition from his controlling mother, Lilith, Clay plans to marry Sam and undergo a heart transplant under the care of his trusted friend and surgeon, Dr. Jack Harper. Shortly after a private midnight wedding, Clay is admitted to the hospital for the operation.

During surgery, Clay experiences anesthesia awareness, a rare condition where he remains conscious but paralyzed. While enduring the surgical pain, he has an out-of-body experience that reveals a conspiracy against him. Clay discovers that Dr. Harper and Sam are colluding to murder him by sabotaging the transplant with a poisoned donor heart. Their plan involves injecting the heart with Adriamycin, a chemotherapy drug that would cause the transplant to fail, allowing them to collect a large life insurance payout to cover Harper’s malpractice debts.

Lilith begins to suspect foul play and sacrifices herself by suicide, allowing her heart to be used in place of the sabotaged donor organ. Meanwhile, Sam attempts to cover her involvement, but Harper, overwhelmed by guilt, preserves evidence implicating her in the conspiracy. A new surgical team intervenes and arrests the conspirators while preparing Lilith’s heart for transplant.

As the operation continues, Clay's spirit remains in a liminal state. He experiences a final vision of his childhood, during which he witnesses Lilith killing his abusive father—a repressed memory that provides him emotional closure. Initially resistant to returning to life, Clay eventually accepts his mother’s sacrifice and allows the transplant to succeed. As the surgeons remove his eye tape, Clay regains consciousness, and Dr. Harper's voice narrates the final words: “He is awake.”

Cast

* Hayden Christensen as Clay Beresford, Jr., Lilith's son
* Jessica Alba as Samantha "Sam" Lockwood-Tunnel, Lilith's personal assistant, and later Clay's wife
* Terrence Howard as Dr. Jack Harper, Clay's best friend
* Lena Olin as Lilith Beresford, Clay's mother and Sam's boss
* Nathalie Efron as Mary Beresford
* Fisher Stevens as Dr. Eugene Puttnam
* Arliss Howard as Dr. Neyer
* Christopher McDonald as Dr. Larry Lupin
* Georgina Chapman as Nurse Penny Carver
* David Harbour as Dracula
* Sam Robards as Clay Beresford, Sr.
* Steven Hinkle as Young Clay

Production

Portions of ''Awake'' were filmed at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus in New York City. Lowenstein Hall was dressed to resemble a hospital, with the statue ''St. Peter: Fisher of Men'' visible in background shots. Additional scenes, including those set in Dr. Jack Harper’s office, the cafeteria where Lilith dies by suicide, and the elevator bank, were filmed at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan.

Reception

Box office

''Awake'' was not screened in advance for critics and opened at number five at the U.S. box office during its opening weekend. As of July 11, 2008, the film had earned $14.4 million domestically and $32.7 million worldwide, against a production budget of approximately $8.6 million.

Critical response

The film received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 23% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 4.23/10. The website’s consensus reads, "Awake has an interesting premise but would have benefited from tighter performances and more efficient direction and editing." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews."

Dennis Harvey of '' Variety'' criticized the film's reliance on excessive narrative twists, writing that it "piles on too many narrative gimmicks to maintain suspense or credibility." Frank Scheck of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' offered a more positive assessment, noting that director Joby Harold created "a quietly ominous tone that never lets up" and that the film relied more on suspense than graphic violence.

Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' awarded the film three out of four stars, praising its ability to engage viewers despite negative buzz. He wrote, "I did not anticipate the surprises, did not anticipate them piling on after one another, got very involved in the gory surgical details, and found the supporting soap opera good as such things go."

Industry response

Following its release, the film was criticized by Ontario’s Anesthesiologists, a section of the Ontario Medical Association, for scientific inaccuracies related to anesthetic practices. The group took issue with the portrayal of anesthetic techniques and disputed the film’s claim that anesthesia awareness affects as many as one in every 700 patients. However, anesthesia awareness advocate Carol Weihrer contested their objections, maintaining that the condition may be more prevalent than official statistics suggest.

Accolades

Home media

''Awake'' was released on DVD in the United States on March 4, 2008, by Lionsgate Home Entertainment. The Blu-ray edition followed on November 18, 2008, distributed by Genius Products.

References

External links

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DVD Talk discusses the ''Awake'' release delay

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awake (Film)
2007 psychological thriller films
2000s English-language films
American psychological thriller films
Films shot in New York City
Films set in hospitals
Fiction about mariticide
Medical-themed films
Films scored by Graeme Revell
Films about medical malpractice
Films about organ transplantation
The Weinstein Company films
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
2007 directorial debut films
2007 films
2000s American films
Films with screenplays by Joby Harold
Films directed by Joby Harold
English-language thriller films