Estado de Consciência

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.

State Of Consciousness is an okay thriller to watch once but to rate it with a ten like some other reviewers did that's a bit exaggerated. That's like saying it was the best movie you ever watched and then I can only to conclude you didn't watch much movies. The fans of Emile Hirsch will be happy as he was convincing playing his character. I like him as well. The story has a constant mysterious vibe so you keep wondering what is going on, what is the real truth, so yes it was entertaining. But in the end it's just okay, not a movie I will remember by next week. That's the reason I rate everything I watch, to make sure I don't rewatch a movie that I scored lower than a seven.

I thought this movie was really good for what it is - a limited release, likely low budget affair. The plot was not the most original but the characters and scenes and most of the dialogue were very well written compared to other movies like this. I grade it a 10 with this in mind against similar movies, not some blockbuster masterpiece. The film kept my attention to the end. The only distracting part was some of the background actors, the film was filmed in Italy but the plot is in Texas, there were some obviously Italian actors trying hard to sound like Texas but you could hear the accents. Filmography wise I thought it was done very well again.

Is this a 10 all time against all competition? No, obviously, but when judged against similar competition it sure is. It felt like a normal higher budget movie (aside from the extra actors with a couple lines), and looked really nice. It flowed spectacularly so pacing was great, and the scenes/writing naturally evolved. These are things lower budget movies tend to fail on which makes them feel low budget and cheap. I'm not sure what the budget was here but I presume pretty low given the limited release and for that it stands near the top.

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!

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.