State of Consciousness

I watched this late last night and very quickly found myself sucked into a story of a wrongfully convicted man (Emile Hirsch) who gets sent to a mental institution. He's injected with a sedative and then wakes up - he thinks, the next morning, but is told 18 months have passed and he's being released after being such a good patient. A lucky break right? At first Emile can't remember what happened at all during those 18 months and it bothers him greatly. And then he starts to have these wild flashbacks... and his sense of self, his ego, time and place... it all just disappears/blends together. At one point he can't even be sure if he's alive or dead.

I love this kind of stuff and found myself wholly wrapped up in this... so much so that it infected my dreams - scratch that - my nightmares. Doesn't happen to me very often, particularly not from a smaller, lower cost production like this. Knowing how it all wraps up now (I think), I'm really interested in seeing it again.

I thought the storyline was interesting. It kept my attention throughout the whole movie, and kept me wondering how it would unfold until the end. Some reviews said it was obvious, but I didn't think it was. Maybe the general idea becomes obvious, but I felt like the specifics and how it would play out was not.

Some of the side actors were not the best, but the leads were good. Overall I felt like it was a great low budget film. I also feel like it's the kind of film you have to really pay attention the whole time, which I like. I didn't ever feel like I wanted it to just get to the point. I enjoyed the whole ride.

Only few words.

If you like the "sixth sense" genre, this is the one for you!! Cinematographically it is good but not exceptional, there are also some serious acting flaws.

However, the film is well written, it also manages to keep the attention alive and the ending, not very obvious, remains in the memory: in fact, this is precisely what we have to wait for to be able to evaluate, with detachment and objectivity, a film of this kind, because, of course, we have all already seen many times and above all in many different ways, especially in recent years, the plot rotate between reality and imagination.

Finally, I would like to point out that the performance by Emile Hirsch, the absolute protagonist, is very valid and convincing.

With their twists & turns writers Guillame Tunzini, Dikran Ornekian & Ryeland Grant make "State Of Conciousness" a decent psychological thriller. On being convicted (wrongly?) of murder, Emile Hirsch (not at his best - but ok) is sent to Dr Kesia Elwin's experimental facility for rehabilitation, before release back to gf Tatjana Nardone. But haunted by nightmares, hallucinations & flashbacks (some clearly not real... but some, well maybe?) he fights to uncover the truth about his treatment & his past. A bigger budget and better director than debutant Marcus Stokes could have injected more tension & polish into this good solid material, but still, it's watchable fare.

Honestly I felt that I had a duty to warn people about this film, I did the mistake of watching it for Emile Hirsch, but sadly he is no different than so many stars who agreed to do low grade movies.

I'm not gonna get into details about the story or any other element in the film, they are simply all baddddd. So in conclusion avoid at all costs and save yourself from a very painful experience.

Honestly I felt that I had a duty to warn people about this film, I did the mistake of watching it for Emile Hirsch, but sadly he is no different than so many stars who agreed to do low grade movies.

I'm not gonna get into details about the story or any other element in the film, they are simply all baddddd. So in conclusion avoid at all costs and save yourself from a very painful experience.