Awake, Netflix's sci-fi film where nobody can fall asleep, isn't exactly a snoozefest, but it's far too silly to take itself so seriously. JosephStanichar's review:
Over the past year, I had intense insomnia, often not sleeping for days on end until being interrupted by 12-hour periods of sweet release from wakefulness. Anyone who’s dealt with insomnia, or even more mild cases of sleeplessness, likely knows the feeling of being increasingly desperate for unconsciousness, which cruelly only decreases our likelihood of getting to sleep as our panic about not being able to do so rises.
This two-problems-at-once special is seen through the eyes of drug dealer, widow, veteran and struggling mother Jill , whose only goal is to protect her kids, including young Matilda , who is one of very few still able to fall asleep. This makes her a prime target for just about everyone, some wanting to sacrifice her, others wanting to crack her head open and find out what’s different about her.
But even that weirdness doesn’t last. Aside from a stunning final shot, the film’s direction is disappointingly unoriginal for a movie where everyone aside from Matilda is hallucinating towards the end, with the extent of its visual language being shaky cameras and a bit of blur. The writing also doesn’t seem to change alongside its progressively sleepier subjects, with characters still speaking in full sentences even as they should be completely incoherent.
Still, most of the cast does a great job selling their insomnia, to the point where I wonder if some actually stopped sleeping before filming. Rodriguez in particular is a solid lead, and it’s difficult to watch her eyes become more sunken and face become expressionless even as she’s screaming and fighting.
I sleep fine now, thanks for asking, and I probably sleep way more now that I know what it’s like to not have control over my sleep cycle. It was more than just insomnia, but the time I spent in that mental state was one of the worst of my life, and I hope I never have to experience anything like it again. And yet, there was very little inthat was gripping or terrifying, because that type of realistic experience isn’t what it’s really about. It’s about shoot-outs and car chases and occasionally.
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