Stay Awake (2022) Film Review
There’s a complex bond between two brothers in Stay Awake. It isn’t that the film goes toward unnecessary paths to make their acts justifiable. But the story calls for something much more mysterious than you would imagine with such a natural union. It’s a random array of feelings that have nothing to do with traditions, or social laws. It’s much more organic and grounded. The secret that brothers Ethan and Derek dare not speak of.
In this courageous approach from writer/director Jamie Sisley, Stay Awake performs. As an autobiographical and beautiful rendering of a growth and maturity under vehement circumstances, but also as a forceful tribute to the other side of addiction. The one that’s seldom spoken about: the fierce situation of caretaking. Stay Awake is common when it needs to be, but it dares to portray an extreme side of the conversation. One led by three wonderful actors, and a director who knows exactly where to aim to make his point.
Ethan (Wyatt Oleff) and Derek (Fin Argus) are two brothers living in a small town. Each of them have to make ends meet as their family isn’t traditional. It seems like every day their life takes a turn: they have to pick up their opioid-addicted mother. They try to keep her awake as they make their way towards the hospital, or wherever they decide to take her.
Their dreams are only dreams at this point. They are solely focused on helping their mother survive something she can’t control. Ethan wants to go to college, and Derek wants to act, but they simply can’t make it as they’re trapped in a tragic loop that starts over and over.
Sisley writes his own experiences in a script that feels tight and confident about the outcome of the story. It’s almost predictable where the film goes.
However, this has nothing to do with the plot’s essence. Stay Awake isn’t averagely poised to depict long, emotional conversations. It’s more about a reactionary nature by a human being who’s decided to break free of a heavy chain drawn by an element society (and the boys themselves) has imposed: they must take care of their mother above anything else.
Stay Awake is attached to a repetitive, yet planned style. Observations are made and claims are spoken. Each time with more of an awakening tone. Until it works and a truly emotional outcry is heard. Perhaps, when the third act evolves into its final stage, you won’t agree with what some of the characters do, but in this film, you’re not supposed to question much of what happens.
Between Ethan, Derek and Michelle dynamics are weird and awkward. This is a loving relationship between mother and sons. But it’s also gone to another plane of expectations and trust. The bond between the mother and their sons is severely damaged, beyond repair. Yet there they remain each day. And they go towards extreme measures to save their mother. Is there a limit, and what happens if it’s reached?
Three leads perform in a solid script. Chrissy Metz is along Oleff and Argus, and the three succeed in achieving authenticity. Personally, I value most of all when Ethan and Derek decide to chill and live their uproarious lives in silence, or talking about their goals. These conversations take place in the dark, where the mysteries of love and maturity don’t call for shame. They are supposed to grow, be themselves. They can’t because something is holding them back. Standing up to that is a final resource that they are afraid to face.
