Before I Wake

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Before I Wake is sort of a hard movie for me to review. The reason I say this is because it doesn't really seem to have anything outwardly wrong with it at first glance. It just doesn't do much of anything to engage me. I did start to notice more of the flaws as it went on. The movie centers around two parents, named Mark and Jessie (played by Thomas Jane and Kate Bosworth respectively) who have recently lost their son. They adopt a young boy, named Cody (played by Jacob Tremblay) who had recently been put back into the foster program following an incident. It is soon revealed that Cody has special powers. He can project things when he is sleeping. I'm normally a huge fan of director Mike Flanagan, having enjoyed several of his previous movies like Ouija: Origin of Evil, Oculus, and Hush. For the most part, his directing in this film seems like it's on point. The actors are trying. Thomas Jane is clearly the standout. He really does excel as a father with clear pain in his eyes and suffering on his face.  Kate Bosworth is harder to describe. I can tell she's trying. I understand what she's going for. She's clearly playing the mother who's trying to hide her suffering behind something of a stoic facade. This is something that should have worked. Maybe it's because I'm not the biggest fan of Bosworth as an actress to begin with. There are moments where she does legitimately break down. However, there doesn't seem to be enough of these moments. They are the parts that occur where I do find some spark in her performance. There are points where Cody imagines this monster, called the "Canker Man." I never really felt as though he came off as particularly frightening, so much as I found him kind of goofy. For the most part, the movie isn't badly directed. I say this because Mike Flanagan knows what he's doing, I think the movie's screenplay could probably have been a little bit stronger, in the end. Parts of it seem to work, like the concept of a young boy who accidentally brings his dreams and his nightmares to life when he is sleeping. It also makes sense that he wouldn't want to go to sleep because he is honestly frightened of harming people. On the other hand, some of the dialogue didn't really make sense to me, even when they tried to justify it. The movie's ending is really good. It's actually heartbreaking. I just wish the rest of the movie would have been better to make me feel that this movie was worth recommending, and I just can't bring myself to do so.

5 / 10