Reawakening

In brilliantly bleak, low-budget, British drama "Reawakening" 24 year old Erin Doherty claims to be suburban couple Jared Harris & Juliet Stephenson's daughter who ran away from home 10 years prior. Stephenson accepts her back immediately, but Harris is unconvinced it's really her (having fruitlessly searched for her for a decade). It's more of a slow-burn character drama (with three excellent central performances) than it is a gripping mystery, yet it still engages and ultimately satisfies - which is glowing testament to second-time writer / director Virginia Gilbert (who also wrote the recent but differently toned "Black Cab"). It's a fine low-key film.

Reawakening is a rare kind of film, philosophical, unnerving, and heartbreakingly human. It delves deep into themes of memory, identity, and redemption with a poetic, almost hypnotic pace, and at the center of it all is Jared Harris in a role that defines his extraordinary range as an actor.

Harris delivers a performance that is nothing short of masterful. As the emotionally fractured yet fiercely intelligent protagonist, he walks a razor's edge between vulnerability and control. There's a quiet gravity to him, a man haunted not only by his past, but by the very idea of time and the consequences of truth. Every line he delivers feels lived-in, every silence charged with meaning. His portrayal is not merely convincing; it's transformative.

What makes Reawakening so compelling is its refusal to offer easy answers. Instead, it invites the audience into a beautifully unsettling world where science meets spirituality, and where Jared Harris becomes our anchor in the storm. His presence alone elevates the film into something almost mythic, timeless and urgent all at once.

Visually striking and thematically rich, Reawakening lingers in the mind like a dream you're not quite ready to wake from. It's a film that reminds us of cinema's power to provoke, challenge, and move and Harris, with quiet brilliance, delivers a performance destined to be remembered.

This had the makings of quite compelling drama dealing with loss, grief and longing but somehow the practical elements of the story as it played out didn't work for me. "John" (Jared Harris) and wife "Mary" (Juliet Stevenson) and happily enough married but it soon becomes clear that their daughter "Clare" got caught up with a bad-influence boyfriend and ran away from home some the years ago. The police suggest a revitalised campaign to support the impending anniversary of her disappearance and next thing there's a girl in their kitchen (Erin Doherty) armed with plenty of quite intimate knowledge of this couple and asserting that she's the long lost "Clare". "Mary" oozes a sort of maternal desperation to believe and welcomes her pretty unconditionally. "John", on the other hand, is much more sceptical and as the story unfolds this puts quite a strain on their relationship. Now the father does insist on some sort of DNA test, but not realistically - for my money - emphatically enough. He has significant doubts yet the plot allows her to take advantage of the vulnerable mother without his much more robust interventions to prove one way or the other. I know such scenarios can never black and white, but given the police are continuing to investigate - and coming up with leads that could prove/disprove the identity of their new child, I felt the story took just a little too contrived a direction and at times might be considered a bit cruel. Auteur Virgina Gilbert has dialled down the hysteria nicely and for such an emotive subject, she guides these two characters without too much histrionics and tantrums, but I just felt the thrust of the second half of the thing a touch too implausible from a man who must have loved and felt responsible for his wife as much as for a girl he hadn't seen in a decade. Stevenson is good in these down-to-earth roles, gels quite well with Harris and the film is worth a gander, but it's a bit unrealistic.

Reawakening (2024) is a decent film, but not without flaws. The acting was good except for Clare, whose performance felt weak and unconvincing. The story and execution were quite clichéd, and some scenes were overly explanatory, making the film feel simplistic. For example, showing unrelated memories when not necessary disrupted the flow and took away some of the mystery. Still, it was entertaining and had some strong moments. (Also, I have no idea why that annoying duo was even there. )Despite its flaws, it's worth a watch. I'd rate it 7/10 and would recommend it to those who enjoy this genre.

It is one of those movies that just sticks with you. Such a strange story with a peculiar plot. At the first, it feels almost deceptively slow, very normal life for two regular couples, although their life wasn't normal, it was filled with intense emotions, fighting, and genuine suffering. But it touched me, and the ending was shoking. It seriously made me ask myself: "Could I ever do that if I were in their shoes?" That's the sign of a truly impactful movie, right?

I like Jared Harris, and I like all his movies. The man is a legend! Every time he's on screen, he just elevates the entire film.