Éveil à la vie

"Rosie O'Donnel is hilarious!", says the box. The descriptions are misleading. THIS IS NOT A COMEDY. It is amusing at times, very slow, and emotionally moving. Even though I was expecting comedy, I watched the whole thing. That says something.

Before I saw this film I knew exactly what I was going to do when I grew up, I had my whole life planned out. I knew what job I was going to have and I didn't think anything could change that, alas, I was wrong. I thought I would always be an author, use my imagination for a career and write books. But ‘Wide Awake', this film has made me realise there are jobs very much like a writer, author, job which can actually make my stories come to life, so they don't have to just be inside somebody's head they can be created with so much realism as in a book as well, as in the wonderful movie which changed the way I see my life in the future, When I was watching that film, it really deepened my look upon movies, it was one of the best films I have ever seen, and although it was not full of action, romance, and that much comical feature (in my opinion) it was a heart-warming very dramatically movie in which portrayed excellent acting, especially from the lovely ‘Joseph Cross' and also such beautiful scenes, so meaningful and heart-warming, to me every scene seemed absolutely perfect, some people may not see the utter deep effect it has and may think it is boring, but that is them, if your only interest is in action flicks with meaningless plots other than to blow up things then this film isn't for you, but for everyone else, everyone who thinks of such a movie as more than just a movie then maybe this film will change your life too, I know it has mine, and I know what I HAVE to be when I grow older and choose what I am going to do for a living, I will be a director. And I am sorry if I have not told you much about the film, but I don't know much more to say other than it is a beautiful emotional journey of one boy (Joseph Cross) who tries to look for god, and some things happen which attack his belief in god, but in the end things happen which save it, many different issues are brought up along the way, but the overall message is passed along very nicely which is in my opinion that we all need something to believe in, and that eventually faith should pay off, I know I believe that I finally have something to believe in, in this lifetime, I will make it as a director, and I know I will make a film one day as meaningful as this, and maybe I will change someone's life too. Maybe one day I will make you laugh, make you cry, make you happy, and make you sad, but I know this I will never forget the film which changed my life ‘Wide Awake', and as one of the dramatic and so meaningful lines goes in the movie, I am ‘Wide Awake' now too.

11 out of 10

Francesca Orr

14 years old

Animal lover

I caught this unique, heartwarming film on cable in one of those "there is nothing on television" moments. I did not expect to fall in love with this beautiful story of a young boy in search of God. It deals with themes such as family, faith, and acceptance. What started out as a "kid" movie ended up in being a movie for people of all ages. It even made me kind of like Denis Leary. Look for a good performance by Robbert Loggia as the grandfather. If you've ever had or wished for a special relationship with a grandparent, watch this movie. You'll laugh, cry, and it might make a believer out of you.

This was the first film written and directed by M. Night Shyalaman, who would go on to make a film called "The Sixth Sense" a few years later. They're not exactly the same genre of movie, but they both have a very similar feel to them, in both dialogue and overall tone & pacing.

This movie was a lot of fun to watch, and worth the rent, if you can dig it out of the children's section at your local video store (it's rated PG). Good performances from all, with maybe only 1 or 2 scenes giving themselves away, something "The Sixth Sense" wasn't guilty of at all.

That said, it's worth something as a milestone, as well... compare the early works of David Fincher or even Ron Howard, and notice how they got better as they went along, making more movies. This movie is a solid B+, with The Sixth Sense being the obvious A. We can only guess what "Unbreakable" may hold for us.

Great actors and writing in this one, regardless. It is very much the story of young Josh and his search for God, and is not at all a Rosie O'Donnell movie as you may have been led to believe. Well worth watching. Denis Leary never looked so nerdy.

I came upon this movie purely by accident when it was being shown on cable, and found myself riveted to my seat, not wanting to miss a minute of it. The performance by Joseph Cross was captivating, but what was even more compelling was the story itself. I was constantly trying to figure out how it was going to end.

The ending turned out to be a real surprise, but I was also impressed by the portrayal of boyhood that the audience receives in the process of getting there. It was so true to life that I found myself wondering how much of it was based on the film writer's own experiences. Above all, I was impressed by the amount of respect the movie seems to have for boys, and by its willingness to recognize that 5th graders sometimes think deep thoughts and ask deep questions.