Awake

NEW YORK (CNS) -- "Awake" (MGM/Weinstein) is a softheaded, somewhat sordid thriller combining medical malpractice, romance and over-possessive mothers. Those facing the prospect of surgery in the near future should steer clear, which isn't to say that what transpires is very plausible.

But no matter how far-fetched the means, the unnerving film manages to subvert expectations and has a surprisingly upbeat and just resolution. Besides, there's no danger of falling asleep.

Writer-director Joby Harold builds his story on a rare phenomenon in which patients under general anesthesia are conscious and able to feel pain yet are unable to move or communicate. According to text displayed at the outset, "Anesthesia Awareness" afflicts a small fraction of the 21 million people put under each year. Boyish billionaire Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is one of them.

Shrewd in business but emotionally repressed, Clay runs his family's Manhattan financial firm and is torn between his abnormally close mother, Lilith (Lena Olin), and his fiancee, Sam (Jessica Alba). He also has a bad heart and is awaiting a transplant, to be performed by his friend, Dr. Jack Harper (Terrence Howard).

Adding to his stress, Clay fears he'll never gain the sterling reputation of his late father. He's so afraid of disappointing his mother that he avoids telling her he's been engaged to her attractive personal secretary, Sam, for six months. After finally revealing their relationship to Lilith, the couple gets married on an impulse, the same night a donor heart with Clay's rare blood type becomes available.

Disapproving of his choice in wives and doctors, Lilith implores him to let a leading surgeon she knows perform the operation. Clay remains loyal to Harper and goes into surgery with new wife and mother in the waiting room. Courtesy of a drunken anesthesiologist (Christopher McDonald), he is awake during the procedure. He focuses on his love for Sam in hopes of enduring the ghastly physical and psychological ordeal, one which many viewers will find excruciating.

What happens then can't be revealed. Suffice it to say, there are significant plot turns, some of which may be anticipated. Director Harold is fortunate to be working with a cast that lends some much-needed tone to the enterprise. His script is excessively foul-mouthed, and yet if a situation ever excused bad language it would be Clay's.

"Awake" won't receive a seal of approval from the American Medical Association but can be recommended, with reservations, to adults who relish nail-biting thrillers and aren't easily made queasy.

The film contains frequent rough language and profanity, a sequence in which one character experiences intense physical and psychological pain, images of open-heart surgery, some violence, a fleeting instance of drug use, a few sexual references and partial upper nudity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops