Wide Awake

"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.

Shyamalan's second feature is a very sweet, good natured and funny look at belief during trying times. It focuses on a young boy Joshua Beal (Joseph Cross) a student at a catholic school, who goes on a spiritual journey to find God after his grandfather dies. There is an incredibly close relationship between him and his grandfather played by Robert Loggia and this is the emotional centre of the story; both performances really shine particularly in these tender moments shown between them and you genuinely believe in their characters, making the impending passing very sad to watch. Cross is the stand out in the film who at such a young age naturally manages to convey all kinds of emotions just through facial features; particularly confusion! There is a lovely appearance also by Rosie O Donnell as Joshua's teacher Sister Terry who is of course very funny but also portrays a sensitive and understanding role model very well. My only reservations about the film are it's soundtrack and the ending. Both of these do over egg the sentimental aspect of the film which does slightly tip over the edge making it a bit too sickly sweet to watch at points. Nevertheless, it's still a nice gentle watch and I'd recommend seeking it out if you fancy something to watch that you can just relax and enjoy

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

When his grandfather dies, Joshua is left feeling lost and confused. Full of questions he begins to search for God in order to get answers. Turning to priests as well as other religions, Joshua is frustrated by his lack of progress but soon learns more than he thought on his journey.

Like many of those who have recently seen it, I was drawn to this film by the fact that Shyamalan directed it shortly before hitting big with Sixth Sense. The film isn't like his more recent straight-dramas with a twist, so beware what you expect; this is more a human story and, as such, it isn't totally successful. It delivers most of the story quite well, managing to be quite touching without ever really falling into daytime tv sentimentality, however something was lacking I felt. The overall story is worthy enough but that side of it never really touched me as much as I would have hoped and it could have been made more of - especially as the ending is focused on that aspect in particular. Also I needed more feeling for the relationship between Josh and his grandfather - the flashbacks were OK but didn't do enough to convey the depth of Josh's love nor the sheer loss he must feel.

Like he did in Sixth Sense, Shyamalan gets good performances out of his child actors. All the support kids are good but Cross is particularly strong and he does very well carrying the narrative. He really is the lead role and nobody else really gets close in terms of screen time. Given this fact I was surprised how many other famous faces were in small roles - O'Donnell, Leary, Loggia and Lauria; they are all OK but none really has more than a supporting role.

Overall, this film was nice but not great. The plot is an interesting one but it doesn't manage to satisfactorily conclude on all the mysticism and ideas that it puts forward. It is still quite a nice little story if you just look at it as a sort of coming of age story surrounding Joshua, but really it didn't quite go where I hoped it would.

What I initially thought of as a kiddie flick, I was pleasantly surprised to find 'Wide Awake' so much more (though I should have known better since it was written by the wonderful M. Night 'Sixth Sense' Shymalan).

The story of the film revolves around a little boy named Joshua who seeks to find God in order to ensure his dead grandfather is safe. Ten-year-old Josh is Catholic and an unflinching believer in his faith until the death of his beloved grandfather. Suddenly all Josh has been raised to believe in is thrown into turmoil as he finds his faith seriously called into question. He begins to wonder why God allows so much bad to exist in the world and, more importantly, what happened to his grandfather following his death.

The film is not just a story of faith but also of growing up and realising the world is not a simple place with absolutes, rather things may not always be what they seem. The ending, like 'Sixth Sense' does have a great twist that works so well and will leave even the hard-hearted feeling warm. Joseph Cross, as Josh, and Timothy Reifsnyder, as his best friend Dave, were able to carry the film at a first-rate level despite being so young. Cross portrayed Josh's innocence, his disenchantment with God, his love for his friends and family and the joy at his end revelation with the proficiency of a professional triple his age. His touching performances brought heart to the story. The adult actors in supporting roles, with Dana Delany and Denis Leary as Josh's parents and Rosie O'Donnell as the nun teacher, were decent yet understated as they, quite rightly, let the child actors shine.

One of the best things of this film is that although much of the cast are children, they aren't the typical annoying brats you see tend to encounter in Hollywood films. The storyline isn't sugary either. The interaction of Josh with his friends and adults around him were handled poignancy, especially the flashback scenes with his grandfather that portrayed their strong bond perfectly.

'Wide Awake' does make you wonder if ten-year-olds' can have deeper thoughts and views than adults give them credit for and I think many of us can empathise with how childlike wonder slowly gives way to adult insights as we grow up and leave childhood behind. This isn't a film just for the religious but those who are interested in a realistic depiction of a child's coming-of-age.