The world is slowly going mad in Netflix’s sci-fi thriller Awake

Awake is Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi thriller from director Mark Raso (Kodachrome). He co-wrote the screenplay alongside Joseph Raso (Seed), and it’s based on a story by Gregory Poirier (Missing).

Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin) stars as Jill, a young mom trying to make sense of a world that’s been struck by a mysterious event that’s not only knocked out all electronics, but also disrupted something essential to humanity’s survival – the ability to fall asleep. However her daughter has proven immune to this effect, and Jill must undertake a dangerous journey to deliver her daughter to the scientists desperately researching how to cure the effect before it’s too late.

The official plot synopsis is as follows:

After a sudden global event wipes out all electronics and takes away humankind’s ability to sleep, chaos quickly begins to consume the world. Only Jill (Gina Rodriguez), an ex-soldier with a troubled past, may hold the key to a cure in the form of her own daughter. The question is, can Jill safely deliver her daughter and save the world before she herself loses her mind.

I‘m going to dub the mystery event an REMP. Let’s take a look:

I think that when it comes to its premise this movie has bitten off far more than it can chew, mostly because the consequences of everything that’s gone wrong – particularly when it comes to not sleeping – escalate way too rapidly. I’ve been awake for twenty four hour plus stretches a few times over the years and by the end of them I was barely able to function, so I just don’t see much that’s happening here as believable given all that’s required from our main characters. I’m sure that’ll be hand-waved away by some coffee, a Bar-One (for a twenty five hour day!), and good old determination.

Anyway, along with my misgivings about the premise I think this just looks painfully average and predictable. There’s some interesting visuals, and the idea of trying to make your way from point A to point B in a world where everyone’s losing their minds while trying to preserve your own sanity appeals to me, but the direction, performances, and dialogue don’t really stand out either.

What do you think?

Awake will premiere on Netflix on 9 June. It also stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, Finn Jones, Shamier Anderson, Ariana Greenblatt, and Gil Bellows.

Last Updated: May 6, 2021