.gif)
Awake (film)
Encyclopedia
Awake is a 2007 American crime
/supernatural
/conspiracy thriller written and directed by Joby Harold
. It stars Hayden Christensen
, Jessica Alba
, Terrence Howard
and Lena Olin
. The film was released in the United States
and Canada
on November 30, 2007.
) has a faulty heart and needs a heart transplant. Against his mother's wishes, he will be operated on by his surgeon friend, Jack (Terrence Howard
), instead of a prestigious doctor. He is also dating his mother's secretary Sam (played by Alba), whom he marries on the eve of the surgery. However, when he finds that he is still awake during the operation (a phenomenon called anesthesia awareness
), he finds out about a plot to kill him and get his money, and learns that Jack and Sam are in on it. Eventually, his mother catches on and sacrifices herself to let Clayton have her compatible heart. The film ends with hospital security arresting all the corrupt doctors except Jack, who has locked himself inside his office. His respite is short-lived however, as a locksmith is seen in the last scene, undoing the lock in the door. He also has evidence in his hands showing that Sam was in the room during surgery. Meanwhile, Sam attempts to escape by using one of the hospital's Emergency Exit doors but is apprehended by authorities.
Clay becomes upset and leaves with Sam, and asks Dr. Harper to arrange a wedding. They marry privately at midnight. Clay then goes to the hospital for the operation. His mother tries to dissuade him again and refers him to a better clinic and a more experienced doctor. Clay brushes aside her concerns as attempts to interfere with his life and proceeds with his original plans. During surgery, Clay encounters "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed. To escape the pain, Clay has an out-of-body experience and uncovers a murder plot against him.
During his out-of-body experience, Clay discovers that Dr. Harper and two others are planning to inject his transplanted heart with a chemical that will cause rejection upon transplantation. Dr. Harper is having second thoughts when Sam comes in to encourage him to go through with the plan. The rejection of the heart would prove fatal, because Clay, like his mother, is O negative. An emergency transplant would not be readily available.
In the operating room, one of the conspirators fails to show up and a seemingly inept anesthesiologist with a drinking problem shows up to replace him. Meanwhile, Clay's mother anxiously awaits for the results of the operation. Sam tries to win the affection of her mother-in-law during her moment of vulnerability.
Clay's mother grows suspicious of Sam, and looks through her purse, only to find that Sam was a nurse before she became her assistant. Clay discovers that Sam worked at the hospital under Dr. Harper. He is dejected, and, accepting his fate, walks to his home and awaits death.
Clay's mother intentionally overdoses and calls her boyfriend, played by Arliss Howard
, to return and save her son. Her boyfriend returns to remove Dr. Harper and transplants the mother's heart into Clay. Dr. Harper locks himself in his office awaiting his inevitable arrest and Sam claims innocence in the matter, but Harper holds onto the syringe with her fingerprints all over it. Harper expresses remorse for his actions and does not try to stop being arrested. It is revealed that all of this was Sam's idea in order to get Clay's money to pay for all of the malpractice suits against the team.
Although the transplant is a success, Clay refuses to leave limbo believing he has nothing left in the outside world after his mother's death and fiancée's betrayal. His mother appears to him and reminds Clay that limbo with his mother and an afterlife with his father may not be ideal. She tells him that his father was an abusive drug addict. During a quarrel she accidentally murdered him to prevent him from harming her son. Clay decides that his life is worth living, and he turns to leave limbo. Dr. Harper closes the movie with the words, "He is awake."
's Lincoln Center campus (Lowenstein Hall is converted to look like a hospital; the statue of "St. Peter: Fisher of Men" is visible in the film). In addition, many scenes, including Dr. Jack Harper's office, the cafeteria where Lilith commits suicide, and the elevator bank, were filmed in Bellevue Hospital.
gross of $14,377,198 in the U.S., and a total of $32,685,679 worldwide.
Awake received generally negative reviews upon release. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
, 24% of 54 critics gave the film positive reviews. On Metacritic
, the film had an average score of 34 out of 100, based on 11 reviews. Dennis Harvey of Variety
said the film "does have an attention-getting plot hook, but piles on too many narrative gimmicks to maintain suspense or credibility." Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
defended the film, saying, "I went to a regular theater to see it Friday afternoon, knowing nothing about it except that the buzz was lethal, and sat there completely absorbed. ... 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". Frank Lovece
of Film Journal International
said he appreciated it as, "A pulp-fiction suspense drama that doesn't imagine it's anything else ... delivering on its paperback promise and not gussying itself up with any pretensions to emotional or psychological insight". Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
said "[Harold] succeeds in creating a quietly ominous tone that never lets up, with this being the rare modern horror effort that relies on suspense rather than bloodshed."
A group representing anesthesiologists in Ontario
blasted the film following its release for having its "science completely wrong." Ontario's Anesthesiologists, a section of the Ontario Medical Association
, declared numerous scientific and procedural distortions in the film such as the presentation of improper anesthetic techniques. The group disputes the film's claim that anesthesia awareness
occurred as frequently as one in every 700 patients, although this in turn is debated by anesthesia awareness advocate Carol Weihrer
.
by writer/director Joby Harold
, seven deleted scene
s with optional audio commentary, a behind the scenes featurette, and storyboard
-to-film comparisons.
A "Blockbuster Exclusive" edition is also available for rental through Blockbuster Video which includes audio commentary
, theatrical trailer, as well as outtakes and bloopers. However, it does not include the other extras included with the original DVD release.
A Blu-ray
version was released on November 18, 2008.
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
/supernatural
Supernatural fiction
Supernatural fiction is a literary genre exploiting or requiring as plot devices or themes some contradictions of the commonplace natural world and materialist assumptions about it....
/conspiracy thriller written and directed by Joby Harold
Joby Harold
Joby Harold is an English film director and screenwriter currently living in Los Angeles. He wrote and directed Awake for The Weinstein Company starring Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard and Lena Olin...
. It stars Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
, Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba
Jessica Marie Alba is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack . Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel...
, Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
and Lena Olin
Lena Olin
Lena Maria Jonna Olin is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Olin was born the youngest of three children, in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the daughter of actress Britta Holmberg and the director Stig Olin...
. The film was released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on November 30, 2007.
Plot
A wealthy man named Clayton Beresford Jr. (Hayden ChristensenHayden Christensen
Hayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
) has a faulty heart and needs a heart transplant. Against his mother's wishes, he will be operated on by his surgeon friend, Jack (Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
), instead of a prestigious doctor. He is also dating his mother's secretary Sam (played by Alba), whom he marries on the eve of the surgery. However, when he finds that he is still awake during the operation (a phenomenon called anesthesia awareness
Anesthesia awareness
Anesthesia awareness, or unintended intra-operative awareness occurs during general anesthesia, on the operating table, when the patient has not been given enough of the general anesthetic or analgesic to render the patient unconscious during general anesthesia...
), he finds out about a plot to kill him and get his money, and learns that Jack and Sam are in on it. Eventually, his mother catches on and sacrifices herself to let Clayton have her compatible heart. The film ends with hospital security arresting all the corrupt doctors except Jack, who has locked himself inside his office. His respite is short-lived however, as a locksmith is seen in the last scene, undoing the lock in the door. He also has evidence in his hands showing that Sam was in the room during surgery. Meanwhile, Sam attempts to escape by using one of the hospital's Emergency Exit doors but is apprehended by authorities.
Synopsis
Capital-investment firm chief Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is in love with a woman named Sam (Jessica Alba) but is unwilling to tell his mother (Lena Olin) of their relationship. We later find out this is due to Sam being his mother's personal assistant. Clay suffers from a heart condition that requires a heart transplant to be carried out by Dr. Jack Harper (Terrance Howard) who had previously saved his life and is now his good friend. His mother and her boyfriend, a famous surgeon, try to dissuade him from going through the operation, due to Dr. Harper's spotty medical history. In the interim, he has to disclose his relationship with his fiancée, Sam. Clay's mother does not take kindly to Clay's haste and asks him to wait until he is older.Clay becomes upset and leaves with Sam, and asks Dr. Harper to arrange a wedding. They marry privately at midnight. Clay then goes to the hospital for the operation. His mother tries to dissuade him again and refers him to a better clinic and a more experienced doctor. Clay brushes aside her concerns as attempts to interfere with his life and proceeds with his original plans. During surgery, Clay encounters "anesthetic awareness" and finds himself awake and aware, but paralyzed. To escape the pain, Clay has an out-of-body experience and uncovers a murder plot against him.
During his out-of-body experience, Clay discovers that Dr. Harper and two others are planning to inject his transplanted heart with a chemical that will cause rejection upon transplantation. Dr. Harper is having second thoughts when Sam comes in to encourage him to go through with the plan. The rejection of the heart would prove fatal, because Clay, like his mother, is O negative. An emergency transplant would not be readily available.
In the operating room, one of the conspirators fails to show up and a seemingly inept anesthesiologist with a drinking problem shows up to replace him. Meanwhile, Clay's mother anxiously awaits for the results of the operation. Sam tries to win the affection of her mother-in-law during her moment of vulnerability.
Clay's mother grows suspicious of Sam, and looks through her purse, only to find that Sam was a nurse before she became her assistant. Clay discovers that Sam worked at the hospital under Dr. Harper. He is dejected, and, accepting his fate, walks to his home and awaits death.
Clay's mother intentionally overdoses and calls her boyfriend, played by Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard
Arliss Howard is an American actor, writer and film director.-Life and career:Howard was born in Independence, Missouri in 1954, and graduated from Truman High School and Columbia College at Columbia, Missouri. Howard established his career with stand-out roles in Full Metal Jacket and Ruby...
, to return and save her son. Her boyfriend returns to remove Dr. Harper and transplants the mother's heart into Clay. Dr. Harper locks himself in his office awaiting his inevitable arrest and Sam claims innocence in the matter, but Harper holds onto the syringe with her fingerprints all over it. Harper expresses remorse for his actions and does not try to stop being arrested. It is revealed that all of this was Sam's idea in order to get Clay's money to pay for all of the malpractice suits against the team.
Although the transplant is a success, Clay refuses to leave limbo believing he has nothing left in the outside world after his mother's death and fiancée's betrayal. His mother appears to him and reminds Clay that limbo with his mother and an afterlife with his father may not be ideal. She tells him that his father was an abusive drug addict. During a quarrel she accidentally murdered him to prevent him from harming her son. Clay decides that his life is worth living, and he turns to leave limbo. Dr. Harper closes the movie with the words, "He is awake."
Production
Portions of Awake were filmed on Fordham UniversityFordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
's Lincoln Center campus (Lowenstein Hall is converted to look like a hospital; the statue of "St. Peter: Fisher of Men" is visible in the film). In addition, many scenes, including Dr. Jack Harper's office, the cafeteria where Lilith commits suicide, and the elevator bank, were filmed in Bellevue Hospital.
Reception
The film was not screened in advance for critics. The film opened at #5 at the U.S. Box office in its first opening weekend. As of July 11, 2008 it had a domestic box officeBox office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
gross of $14,377,198 in the U.S., and a total of $32,685,679 worldwide.
Awake received generally negative reviews upon release. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, 24% of 54 critics gave the film positive reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the film had an average score of 34 out of 100, based on 11 reviews. Dennis Harvey of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
said the film "does have an attention-getting plot hook, but piles on too many narrative gimmicks to maintain suspense or credibility." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
defended the film, saying, "I went to a regular theater to see it Friday afternoon, knowing nothing about it except that the buzz was lethal, and sat there completely absorbed. ... 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
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
good as such things go". Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece
Frank Lovece is an American journalist, author, comedy performer and comic book writer. He was additionally one of the first professional Web journalists, becoming an editor of a Silicon Alley start-up in 1996....
of Film Journal International
Film Journal International
Film Journal International is a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It is a sister publication of Adweek, Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, and other periodicals....
said he appreciated it as, "A pulp-fiction suspense drama that doesn't imagine it's anything else ... delivering on its paperback promise and not gussying itself up with any pretensions to emotional or psychological insight". Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
said "[Harold] succeeds in creating a quietly ominous tone that never lets up, with this being the rare modern horror effort that relies on suspense rather than bloodshed."
A group representing anesthesiologists in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
blasted the film following its release for having its "science completely wrong." Ontario's Anesthesiologists, a section of the Ontario Medical Association
Ontario Medical Association
The Ontario Medical Association is a professional organization for physicians in Ontario, Canada founded in 1880. It represents and, to a certain degree, governs approximately 24,000 physicians in Ontario. The association's main office is located at 150 Bloor St. West in Toronto. The current...
, declared numerous scientific and procedural distortions in the film such as the presentation of improper anesthetic techniques. The group disputes the film's claim that anesthesia awareness
Anesthesia awareness
Anesthesia awareness, or unintended intra-operative awareness occurs during general anesthesia, on the operating table, when the patient has not been given enough of the general anesthetic or analgesic to render the patient unconscious during general anesthesia...
occurred as frequently as one in every 700 patients, although this in turn is debated by anesthesia awareness advocate Carol Weihrer
Carol Weihrer
Carol Weihrer is an activist for victims of anesthesia awareness. Beginning in 1989, Weiher suffered chronic pain from recurrent corneal erosion syndrome. After 14 unsuccessful surgeries to relieve the increasing severity of the pain, in 1998 she underwent an eye removal surgery and reportedly...
.
DVD releases
The Region 1-DVD was released on March 4, 2008. Bonus material included an audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
by writer/director Joby Harold
Joby Harold
Joby Harold is an English film director and screenwriter currently living in Los Angeles. He wrote and directed Awake for The Weinstein Company starring Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, Terrence Howard and Lena Olin...
, seven deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s with optional audio commentary, a behind the scenes featurette, and storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
-to-film comparisons.
A "Blockbuster Exclusive" edition is also available for rental through Blockbuster Video which includes audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
, theatrical trailer, as well as outtakes and bloopers. However, it does not include the other extras included with the original DVD release.
A Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
version was released on November 18, 2008.