Dead Awake

An insomniac (Stephen Baldwin) learns how to wake up during a murder investigation that pits him against women that would die to be his secretary, a whacked-out detective searching for the truth and a sleazy diner full of so-called friends that only want to help. Stephen Balwin puts in another regular performance but this time with a script that shines. It is amost cult level...almost.

...and somewhat believable entertaining plot devices!

I came across this film on my DVR a few days after combing late night TV for zombie movies (by virtue of the film's name)... And though it has less to do with the flesh-eating kind of zombie, Dead Awake has at least one zombie, played by Stephen Baldwin. While I'd like to make a joke at this point about the zombie reference being in reference to Baldwin family acting, he did okay in this one, and plays a corporate warrior who, though is successful, wanders through his days in a zombie-like trance because he is some sort of unexplained insomniac-narcoleptic. He's an insomniac who has is awake most nights and catches his rest in various lengths of micro sleep (with his eyes open). Enough of the plot is disclosed in the IMDb synopsis above (or probably also in the DVD liner notes), so I won't repeat it, but I will relate that some of the plot devices in this murder mystery are all at once simple, yet not completely unbelievable or borrowed/warmed over from other films.

There are also interesting characters and decent camera work. The entire movie has the feeling of Insomnia (the movie with Al Pacino), though it's faster paced and requires less critical or intense thinking. There's a neat scene where the camera moves forward through a cab (in one window, out the other), and then you hear the cab take off, in an obvious attempt to trick the viewer into thinking there's no camera at all. It's easy to figure the trick out, but I appreciated the little extra thought and prep that must have went into the scene, adding to the films overall stream of dreamlike consciousness. It's by no means a "Waking Life" experience, or as contrived as Snatch, but a very unexpected sleeper that I had never heard of before.

The music and ambiance not bad. Though it's filmed in Canada, it leaves you with the feeling that it could be New York, Chicago, or any believable Eastern US metro city.

There is a server at the diner who is legally blind. Unlike so many films that portray blindness (especially low-vision/legal blindness) inaccurately, the blind girl treatment in Dead Awake was quite realistic, and will certainly leave some people wondering "how could she see if she is blind?". She was actually one of the more believable, well-played characters in the film.

Overall, I probably would have walked past this one at the video rental store, especially with Stephen Baldwin on the cover, but I was mildly glad I mistakenly recorded it.

PostScript: There's a short bonus scene in the credits betraying a happy little conclusion to the narcosomnia.

Stephen Baldwin isn't my favorite of that family. His acting comes off as stiff and unnatural as a life-size stand-up cardboard cut-out. However, he is only half bad in this film, and the story itself is quite intriguing.

This has to be designated as one of those obscure dark little pools of goodness. Oh, it's no masterpiece and, unless you are a fan of the sub-genre of suspense/mystery or noir, this may bore you to tears. But if you are a fan of either, it is definitely worth a viewing Herein lie twists, turns, and a gradually foreboding suspense, which adequately conveys the proper atmosphere necessary to enhance the viewer's enjoyment.

Dead Awake is both clever AND witty, while sustaining at least moderate interest in the engrossing storyline.

The main drawback to this work seems to be Stephen Baldwin, himself. HIs soft-spoken, laid back personality fails to deliver the proper intensity mandated by the nature of the character of Desmond Kane.

Jeff Goldblum would have been a MUCH better casting choice in this instance. Not only is Goldblum a significantly better actor, but his personality would have uplifted this production from mundane to marvelous.

I can't say I loved it, but it does deliver something tangible, although the cinematography of the waking dream sequences were enough to make me so dizzy, I nearly tossed my cookies.

It rates a 7.4/10 from...

the Fiend :.

"Dead Awake" tells of a corporate marketing visionary/maven and insomniac (Baldwin) who sleeps with his eyes open at work by day and hangs out in a diner with some peculiar blue-collar types by night and gets entangled in murder and other mischief. The film sneers at traditional character development while painting an unlikely portrait of human nature on it's untra-hip neo-noir canvass. Somewhat interesting because of it's sharp creative edge, this nominal whodunit is less believable than entertaining. Okay for flick junkies who care more about the "sizzle" than the "steak".

Funny enough, I have insomnia and have had it for years. This was "one of those nights" and this film came on @ 5:05am. The entire premise, especially in my situation, was enough to keep my attention. Then it went ODD, but with some very memorable characters (look out for the midget cops!) Michael Ironside plays a PERFECT loon. And REALLY ODD, Baldwin plays someone who is incredibly smart, clever, and observant -> and DOES IT BELIEVABLY! (yeah, i couldn't believe it either!) If you're in for some truly bizarre "Lucky Number Slevin" knockoff with those oddball/knotty/curves in a movie, it's worth your time (although if you're observant, you'll catch on to some key parts pretty early on; the plot will have to plug the pieces together though).

I thought it was pretty darn strange, but I DID enjoy it. As an insomniac anyways! :oD