Ethan (Wyatt Oleff) and Derek (Fin Argus) are two teenage brothers living a life of struggle and hostility. Their mother Michelle (Chrissy Metz) is addicted to prescription drugs–and her life is constantly hanging in the balance as a result of her choices. This family seems to be stuck in a downward spiral, one that can only end poorly–but the two boys are determined to find their mother help, often begging her to “Stay Awake.” The journey is long and harrowing–but together they can accomplish anything.
In one of the best films of 2023 so far, Stay Awake tells the true story of Writer-Director Jamie Sisley. Knowing that these events really took place ups the ante, and it makes the emotion (that’s already so prevalent) so much more appealing. From the opening moments it’s clear that Stay Awake would be riddled with blood-tingling emotion that would refuse to relent. I fell in love with the film early on, and my love for the film continued to grow throughout the duration of my viewing, never veering from the powerful emotions or its ability to reach viewers.
Nearly everything is driven by music–and that music works to heighten every moment, every emotion, and Stay Awake flourishes, in part, as a result of this. With music being so prominent, the moments of silence become deafening, they become the most important parts of the film. The music is wonderful, even in the moments when it becomes a tad cheesy (because it does a great job of juxtaposing the other tones), and it transcends audiences, and truly captures the essence of each and every moment. Sound is always such an important part of filmmaking–and silence is an important part of that (something that filmmakers can often forget). Again, the moments when the music dissipates, when it ceases to exist, those are the moments that truly evoke emotion, that allow all of the things festering throughout the course of Stay Awake to come to be.
Oleff and Metz are individuals that I’ve come to be familiar with over the course of the past few years, but Argus is new to me. Regardless of my lack of familiarity regarding Argus, I anticipated sound acting from those other aforementioned actors–and I couldn’t have been more right. I can’t imagine other people in these roles, I can’t imagine others tasked with this amount of responsibility–because Stay Awake is brilliant from beginning to end. I could feel every bit of emotion pouring from their mouths and being exuded by their body language, and I was often forced to question the relationship between what was being said and done on screen and my own life. That’s not to say that anything quite so traumatic has ever happened to me, but the reality is that Stay Awake did force me to make comparisons to my own life and relive any and all trauma that has befallen me throughout the course of my existence. While every piece of Stay Awake allows this to happen, the primary source of that emotion is what Oleff, Metz, and Argus are able to bring to the table.
A lot of what takes place throughout the course of the film happens at night–and the darkness that often transcends the film plays a pivotal role in how viewers receive it. The darkness runs parallel to the story, as it literally represents the darkness that cripples Ethan and Derek’s lives as they try to navigate a seemingly impossible situation. Stylistically Stay Awake is stunning, and the visuals are as well. Paired with one another it seems impossible that viewers wouldn’t be attracted to it–as it finds ways to appeal to everyone in one way or another.
I had high hopes for Stay Awake, if only due to the fact that Oleff and Metz played main characters. It’s never easy to tell ahead of time the things that will play out throughout the entirety of a film, especially when you have no frame of reference whatsoever. Regardless, I went in with high hopes–and every step of the way thrilled me to no end. Stake Awake is emotionally driven, seemingly incapable of failing in this regard–and at every single turn I fell more and more in love with what Sisley and his team had to offer.
Written & Directed by Jamie Sisley.
Starring Wyatt Oleff, Fin Argus, Chrissy Metz, Cree Cicchino, Quinn McColgan, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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