If you’re the kind to utilise Netflix as a visual sleep aid, “Awake” might be exactly the ticket. On Wednesday, a stodgy apocalyptic thriller was released on the streaming service.
And it managed to put a fascinating premise to sleep over the course of its 92 minutes. Gina Rodriguez plays Jill, a veteran of the Army stationed at Fort Huachuca.
Who panics for the safety of her loved ones when she learns that the world’s electronics have been turned off and no one can sleep.
Matilda (Ariana Greenblatt), Jill’s daughter, is a target of unseen government agents since she is one of the few people left on Earth who can still sleep.
Jill uses her survival abilities to hold on to life despite the fact that she is suffering from insomnia.
Rodriguez, a charismatic presence best known as the lead in romcom “Jane the Virgin,” seems out of her league here.
Carrying nearly the whole weight of the film on her shoulders. Suddenly acting like a grim, depressed survivalist feels out of place.
What is an Awake Movie?
Mark Raso’s Awake is set in a world where, for no apparent reason, humans can no longer go to sleep.
Matilda’s mother, Jill (Gina Rodriguez), works as a security guard in a research facility, and she is one of the few individuals in the world who can sleep.
The acting is the first of many things that are disappointing about this picture; the actors (ironically) seem to be sleeping through it.
You never feel like you’re getting anywhere near a conclusion that any of these folks genuinely require sleep. The general consensus is that they are simply bored.
The performances are so lifeless that you may begin to doubt that any of the actors have ever had a restless night, even at the times when they are supposed to be capturing the hysteria that results from lack of sleep.
Jill’s adolescent son Noah (Lucius Hoyos) watches the night sky for meteors. Jill explains that the mysterious objects in the sky are actually satellites.
But her monotone delivery does not do justice to the potential awe or beauty of the circumstance.
A lack of energy is typical with sleep deprivation, thus it’s possible that this is a deliberate acting choice.
However, when the script is as simplistic as this one, you can’t help but hate such choices that deny the audience of any amusement.
Conclusion
Mark Raso is at the helm of the 2021 American sci-fi thriller Awake, which he co-wrote with his brother Joseph Raso.
In it, you’ll see Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, Finn Jones, Shamier Anderson, Ariana Greenblatt, Frances Fisher, Elias Edraki, Lucius Hoyos, and Gil Bellows.
