State of Consciousness

If that headline grabbed you to you, then this is very likely a movie you will enjoy. I went into this with low expectations and soon found myself sucked all the way in.

The story is set on the Texas/Mexico border, but seems like most of it was shot in Italy.. with a mostly Italian cast... One prominent character is dubbed...Half of the time we are in a small, dusty Southwest town and the other half is spent in a mental institution.

It's not a Spaghetti Western or a giallo exactly, but it certainly has that vibe... and that's a vibe I really dig. There are also elements here from the psychological noir, sci-fi, horror, crime and thriller genres... not a blend you see everyday.

Emile Hirsch is terrific in this, the best I've ever seen him in a low budget movie. He's quite likable and surprisingly funny.

The sense of humor, in the screenplay and in Emile's performance, really elevate this and made it a very fun watch for me and my wife.

Tatjana Nardone is also a standout. I hadn't seen her in anything before but I'm sure that will change. The script is full of good twists and reveals that we didn't see coming. And it builds and builds to a really fun third act and finale.

So if you're in the mood for a low-fi, Memento-style mindbender with a sense of humor, then look no further!

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.

I've been a big fan of Emile Hirsch since he blew my mind with Speed Racer back in 2008. Love that movie and his performance in it. And I've followed just about everything he's done since, good bad and ugly... and yes, despite being a big fan there has been plenty that qualify in each category.

I was of course curious about this one because it seemed to be the Emile show. He's the poster and no other actors I recognized. But because more than a few of his recent efforts have fallen into the 'ugly' pile I didn't expect much... but his performance here lines up with the best work he's done. This is a movie with multiple timelines (and maybe even multiple realities) and Emile is playing a different character in each. The timelines start to blend together and the thing that keeps us grounded is the consistency of Emile's performance.

He goes big here and it was a lot of fun to follow as the movie kept flipping over on its head.

Emile often plays very serious, very grounded characters but this is a heightened world and Emile goes big here to make the moments count. I loved that. He finds the humanity and - to my delight - the humor in the character and this over the top scenario.

There is a lot of fun dialogue and the script really works, leaving a lot open for interpretation, imo. It's a very indie film... but I think the rough edges give the film an extra bit of charm. If you're a fan of Emile Hirsch or quirky head trip thrillers, this is for you.

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.