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"Awake" is a new medical thriller that's out to exploit a rare phenomenon that occurs in apparently one in 70,000 people each year. "Awake" attempts to depict the medical phenomenon known as "anesthesia awareness," in which patients during surgery who are under the influence of general anesthesia "wake up" during the procedure but are paralyzed and are unable to communicate in any way to the doctors operating on them. It's a terrifying occurrence in which the individual is completely aware of their ordeal but cannot do anything about it.
Makes me think twice about ever going under the knife.
But regardless of any reputed medical inaccuracies present in the film, it doesn't change the fact that this is still a fairly gripping and quite intelligent thriller, written and directed by a newcomer, a Brit named Joby Harold. The phenomenon of anesthesia awareness was not lost upon me when I first began reading about this film, but similar films in the past have played with the notion of people near Death's door but cannot communicate with their would-be gravediggers.
"Awake" concerns a New York City executive, Clay Beresford, Jr. (Hayden Christensen), who has inherited his late father's financial business. Under the thumb of his overly protective mother Lilith (Lena Olin), Clay is hesitant to reveal the details of his engagement to Sam Lockwood (Jessica Alba) to her, who looks at Sam with a slight distrust. Matters are further complicated by Clay's ailing heart, and he desperately needs a new ticker (because he's the hero of the story, he doesn't have to be on a waiting list). Well, hope does come along in the form of a new heart, and Clay's close surgeon friend Jack (Terrence Howard) is going to be performing the operation, much to Lilith's dismay that her trusted surgeon Dr. Neyer (Arliss Howard) do it.
Anyway, Clay opts for Jack over Neyer, causing a rift with his mother. All goes well at the beginning of the surgery, with Clay gently coming under the influence of general anesthesia. But a mishap occurs a quarter of the way through and he wakes up, completely aware of his surroundings. Needless to say, the horror that he wakes up to - the doctors joking about a Knicks game, the doctors cutting open his chest, the sounds of them cutting it open and removing his heart - is far from anything we hope to experience ourselves. It's at this point that the movie begins to mix genres - the horror film, the medical thriller, the supernatural thriller, and the murder mystery (!) - as Clay finds himself disembodied and wandering around the hospital in a deathly daze, later discovering that he's the victim of a horrific conspiracy to off him while still on the operating table. Eventually, too, he comes face-to-face with past and present, and how they're affecting his life now that he's *this* close to Death's door. But this is not a typical thriller, and although there is some disturbingly realistic footage of surgery here, there is nothing along the lines of modern torture-fests such as "Saw" or "Hostel."
"Awake" is unique in its premise and ability to mix things up a little bit, just to give us a new spin on seemingly old material. For this thriller, the writer/director Joby Harold has created something that's a little bit different from what we're used to seeing on a weekly basis. The film has an incredible build-up that really allows us to connect with some of the characters, especially Clay, who is played with rather strong conviction by Mr. Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen. He hasn't gotten a good rap from critics in recent years, but I saw in his performance here the makings of a strong and capable performer. There are scenes, especially the surgery scenes, where we're really there with him, listening to his panicked narration as he hears doctors slicing him open while the only thing that he can do is just lay there and do nothing.
"Awake" kept me wide awake throughout its remarkably short running time (roughly 80 minutes). The film allowed itself to build up nicely to create an experience that's all too nightmarish to be real, but the terrifying thing is that "Awake" is a movie that is very much real and could happen to any one of us.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
"Awake" is a new medical thriller that's out to exploit a rare phenomenon that occurs in apparently one in 70,000 people each year. "Awake" attempts to depict the medical phenomenon known as "anesthesia awareness," in which patients during surgery who are under the influence of general anesthesia "wake up" during the procedure but are paralyzed and are unable to communicate in any way to the doctors operating on them. It's a terrifying occurrence in which the individual is completely aware of their ordeal but cannot do anything about it.
Makes me think twice about ever going under the knife.
But regardless of any reputed medical inaccuracies present in the film, it doesn't change the fact that this is still a fairly gripping and quite intelligent thriller, written and directed by a newcomer, a Brit named Joby Harold. The phenomenon of anesthesia awareness was not lost upon me when I first began reading about this film, but similar films in the past have played with the notion of people near Death's door but cannot communicate with their would-be gravediggers.
"Awake" concerns a New York City executive, Clay Beresford, Jr. (Hayden Christensen), who has inherited his late father's financial business. Under the thumb of his overly protective mother Lilith (Lena Olin), Clay is hesitant to reveal the details of his engagement to Sam Lockwood (Jessica Alba) to her, who looks at Sam with a slight distrust. Matters are further complicated by Clay's ailing heart, and he desperately needs a new ticker (because he's the hero of the story, he doesn't have to be on a waiting list). Well, hope does come along in the form of a new heart, and Clay's close surgeon friend Jack (Terrence Howard) is going to be performing the operation, much to Lilith's dismay that her trusted surgeon Dr. Neyer (Arliss Howard) do it.
Anyway, Clay opts for Jack over Neyer, causing a rift with his mother. All goes well at the beginning of the surgery, with Clay gently coming under the influence of general anesthesia. But a mishap occurs a quarter of the way through and he wakes up, completely aware of his surroundings. Needless to say, the horror that he wakes up to - the doctors joking about a Knicks game, the doctors cutting open his chest, the sounds of them cutting it open and removing his heart - is far from anything we hope to experience ourselves. It's at this point that the movie begins to mix genres - the horror film, the medical thriller, the supernatural thriller, and the murder mystery (!) - as Clay finds himself disembodied and wandering around the hospital in a deathly daze, later discovering that he's the victim of a horrific conspiracy to off him while still on the operating table. Eventually, too, he comes face-to-face with past and present, and how they're affecting his life now that he's *this* close to Death's door. But this is not a typical thriller, and although there is some disturbingly realistic footage of surgery here, there is nothing along the lines of modern torture-fests such as "Saw" or "Hostel."
"Awake" is unique in its premise and ability to mix things up a little bit, just to give us a new spin on seemingly old material. For this thriller, the writer/director Joby Harold has created something that's a little bit different from what we're used to seeing on a weekly basis. The film has an incredible build-up that really allows us to connect with some of the characters, especially Clay, who is played with rather strong conviction by Mr. Anakin Skywalker himself, Hayden Christensen. He hasn't gotten a good rap from critics in recent years, but I saw in his performance here the makings of a strong and capable performer. There are scenes, especially the surgery scenes, where we're really there with him, listening to his panicked narration as he hears doctors slicing him open while the only thing that he can do is just lay there and do nothing.
"Awake" kept me wide awake throughout its remarkably short running time (roughly 80 minutes). The film allowed itself to build up nicely to create an experience that's all too nightmarish to be real, but the terrifying thing is that "Awake" is a movie that is very much real and could happen to any one of us.更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net