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 remains 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 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It received negative reviews from critics, who criticized the performances, direction, and editing. However, it 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. At the same time, 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 prepares Lilith’s heart for transplant while the police arrest the conspirators.
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. Jonathan 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 60 reviews. 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". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.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."