As a co-producer on Awake, actress Gina Rodriguez had to see something in the story that had her not only attaching her name to the film as its lead but also as someone behind the camera committed to bringing this sci-fi-centric thriller to the world. Netflix is airing Awake starting June 9 and it paints a world where some sort of catastrophic event has occurred. It has resulted in the world’s electricity completely failing, and even all modes of transportation—from cars to airplanes—also unable to operate.
There are several things at work here, and both add layers of tension to Awake that is for the large part unspoken. When the world is facing what could be an extinction-level event, don’t bet on individual people to do the right thing. The other aspect, as told to us by a doctor early in the film, is how the human body without sleep will eventually die. But before we perish, things get more than a little wonky. In fact, many of us would go completely crazy. Not a good combination with that civilization’s going-to-end vibe that permeates the narrative since the world went dark.
That all sets the stage for a surprisingly intimately centered tale about a mother and the ends of the earth she would cover for her children.
Rodriguez is Jill, a mother of two, who has to schedule visits with her kids Matilda (Ariana Greenblatt) and Noah (Lucius Holos) with their grandmother (Frances Fisher). She is a recovering addict and military veteran whose husband died in combat—leaving her devastated and incapable of raising her kids. She’s much better now, perhaps even on the verge of getting her kids back. Then, that whole potentially world-ending event occurs. What’s intriguing is that if there was any question as to her fitness as a maternal influence prior to this, by the close of the film, she has more than earned the moniker of mother once again.
Scientists are racing against their own body clocks, and the collective world as well, to find some sort of cure for this epidemic that has plagued the planet. No one can sleep. Well, that’s not exactly true. No one can sleep except Jill’s daughter Matilda. She may just hold the key to finding answers to questions that keep humanity moving forward and not concluding.
Awake is directed by Mark Raso, working from a script by him and his brother, Joseph Raso, based on a story by Gregory Poirier. Whenever one talks about a story of this type, a discussion must ensue regarding originality. In an era of sequels (the NINTH installment of you-know-what is coming soon with F9), comic book movies, remakes, and television programs turned into tentpoles, one must tip the hat to the Rasos for even conceiving of this world.
It’s fitting that the film lands on Netflix, when it recalls Bird Box from 2018, starring Sandra Bullock. Everything about it from a plot standpoint is in a league all its own. But there is a tone, a timbre to the experience of both films that they share a DNA. Bird Box could have easily become A Quiet Place: Extended World in its story motivation. But in the end, it was about a family and the fluid definition of that word that is occurring all over the globe. These films are also about mothers finding depth inside themselves that they knew was there, but were perhaps unsure given the ultimate bizarreness of the world around them, that they could tap that greatness. Each flick finds a single woman leading a couple of kids across a landscape that teeters on apocalyptic. Both actresses dig deep and rise to the occasion, mirroring their character’s resolve around every turn.
Rodriguez is intense. Performers have been long been required to portray a laundry list of situational characters who emerge into worlds that look nothing like the ones they know. But, speaking of originality, I do not recall a star and cast being charged with portraying folks who are slowly but surely losing their minds and their health because they cannot sleep.
The Jane the Virgin vet (and lest we forget last year’s awesome Kajillionaire and leading 2019’s Miss Bala) spotlights a side of her that we have yet to see so consistently as she displays in Awake. She goes deep here, both flexing her movie mom muscles as well as being the center of the action when peril arises. After all, the world is slowly but surely slipping away, lost in a haze of sleep deprivation that has reduced even the strongest minds (such as Jennifer Jason Leigh’s doctor) to act in ways that are equally dangerous as they are unpredictable.
Navigating this world is Rodriguez, who as most mothers can attest, is always thinking about herself last and others first. How serious and alarming the situation is can often be seen in the actress’s face. She nails the dialogue, don’t get me wrong, but there is something to be said for saying much with so little. We know she’s processing as each situation presents itself. But there’s also a part of her that is slipping away, mentally. That can only be captured so much with words, and Rodriguez should earn a slew of new appreciators with what she achieved in Awake.
The two children charged with depicting Jill’s kids are given parts that are much weightier than your usual family fare for young thespians. Hoyos and Greenblatt are impressive, and both match their movie mom with equal intensity—all while maintaining that veil of childhood that is integral to the overall scope of Raso’s film.
Witnessing two thespians so young manage an emotional toolbox so massive is remarkable. What Greenblatt, in particular, has to walk through as a youngster will break your heart, especially because of how she plays it. It’s raw. For actors with four times the experience, it would be a supreme challenge. These kids are asked to hit high notes that are so specific to this story and the universe that has been painted for them that I was astonished by their gifts.
It was great seeing the supremely talented Leigh, who portrays a colleague of Jill’s, but it wasn’t the most well-developed role she’s ever inhabited. With her command, it’s a forceful turn. It’s just that there is not much of a roundedness to her role. We don’t need many minutes of exposition, but much of who Leigh’s character is, frankly, is just never given a second thought. She is a tool of the story and sadly, much of the supporting cast falls in the same vat. Beyond the main three, it’s difficult to get behind souls who filmmakers have given us nothing to grab on to along the way. The most three-dimensional soul is Fisher’s grandmother and much of who she is can be discerned and was not necessarily laid out for the audience.
Although it is a small part, Barry Pepper deserves some props for his portrayal of a pastor trying to make sense of it all as his congregation is mentally lost. The 61* star encapsulates the part of the population who is determined not to let the current global situation define the human race and its history. Can someone please put Pepper in more movies!
Director Raso (who last gave us Netflix’s Kodachrome in 2017 with Ed Harris, Jason Sudeikis, and WandaVision’s Elizabeth Olsen) has promise. His previous film was written by someone else. It is intriguing to see what he does with an original idea born from him and his brother. The storyteller is just getting started, and the streaming giant is an ideal landscape for him. He’s still “cutting his teeth” and working with Netflix has allowed him to express himself artistically in a way that he probably would not find with a “major studio.”
There are a few mind-wandering moments and cinematic tightening that were needed in Awake that Raso will employ as he hones his craft. He’s a “one to watch” and hopefully will continue to grow as his filmography progresses.
Grade: B