one of the last festivals this is at so keep an eye out for when it comes out on streaming :)

wyatt oleffs character reporting a completely normal post for offensive content out of pettiness… i have never felt more seen❤️

Authentic; honest; important; naturalistic; realistic; sad; short; understated; unsentimental; well-acted.

personal berlinale opener 2022. very centred around the coming-of-age storyline, the dynamics of the brotherhood and ordinary life in americana. concerning the opioid crisis this works more as a backdrop to engage the drama and has close to zero interest in working out the politics.

Stay Awake rather focuses on the "triangle of victim, co-dependant and aggressor" within the families as the director put it in the Q&A. it's very much an actor-centred movie, there's moments (usually the one-on-one scenes between the brothers or the mother and them) that work out well, others are often only used to drag the story along.

fair enough though, this being Sisleys own, personal and intimate story, it breathes enough authenticity and gets carried along by the good work of the actors, it's a worthwhile piece to find in the generation side section of the festival.

"You see that guy over there?" *points to a sign flipper dressed in a clown outfit* "that's an English major

wyatt oleff kinda the most talented IT kid i’m afraid

They should’ve thrown the whole mom away from the start…

I honestly wouldn’t have minded a little more of Ethan discovering his fruity side but whatevs, I’m glad my boys are finally free 🥹 also, great acting.

made me cry a lot. love this film. best wyatt oleff performance

Cinematography?? Stellar!
Story?? Heart breaking!
Acting?? Phenomenal!
Script?? (Mid)

Stay Awake is about a woman named Michelle (Chrissy Metz) who has issues with addiction. The thing that I didn't expect from this film is that she has two older teens (played by Wyatt Oleff and Fin Argus) whose characters are fleshed out. It's pretty decent for an independent feature.

Vegan alert:
-Yogurt, honey, and chicken ordered
-Reference to fishing

Vegan points:
-They go to a place that can accommodate vegan and vegetarian options
-Michelle is allergic to eggs

This is the 16th film I saw through the 2nd incarnation of MoviePass.

The script can't make up its mind on who the protagonist is and whose story is more important, resulting in a lot of incomplete subplots (are we just gonna not address Ethan being gay?) and a ton of "and then and then" storytelling where scenes don't build on top of the other.

The further the film progresses, the more you notice how on-the-nose and cliché the dialogue is, how a lot of scenes are actually not essential to the overall story, and that the film doesn't have a firm hand on tone either.

The two actors who play the brothers try their very best with the material, and the subject matter of the opioid crisis is an important one, but the writing here is too procedural, too predictable, and devoid of style. Had it been worse, it would've been better.

Please excuse us our mother is being voted off the family because this is actually a drug free home