Dead Awake (2001)

Desmond Caine suffers from insomnia and spends his nights walking the streets. One night, he witnesses a murder, generating a strange chain of events in his life.

Director:

Marc S. Grenier

Writer:

Terry Abrahamson

Stars:

Stephen Baldwin, Macha Grenon, Michael Ironside

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Stephen Baldwin	...	Desmond Caine
Macha Grenon	...	W.D.
Michael Ironside	...	Skay
Edward Yankie	...	Det. Gary Belladonna
Janet Kidder	...	Kimberly 'Kick' Birmingham
Maxim Roy	...	Chaney Streeter
Claudia Ferri	...	Lena Savage
Karen Elkin	...	Alma Blasquez
Frank Schorpion	...	McCoy Wright
Conrad Pla	...	Veronica
Daniel Brochu	...	Pit Bull Owner
Gillian Ferrabee	...	Gloria Magik
Lorne Brass	...	Udo Magik
Michelle Lipper	...	Vicki
Donovan Reiter	...	Horace Ramirez

Storyline

An insomniac wanders the streets at night and ends up at a local deli where life's losers appear to end up, including a nice, although slightly lost young woman and a slightly deranged, apparently homeless man, and a untalkative, dysfunctional cop hangout. On one of the late night forays, the insomniac witnesses a murder. When he tries to report, there is no sign of the murder, but the cops become convinced he is the killer. But wait, that is not the weird part. It seems that the insomniac has a girl friend, who doesn't have a clue that he gets up at night and wanders the city, and a personal assistant, who knows all about his exploits. But it only gets weirder from there as the cops uncover that the murdered man is connected to the man's girl friend.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder | insomnia | pit bull dog | wheelchair | dog | 

---

Taglines:

Sleepwalking in a nightmare

---

Genres:

Action | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, sexual content and violence

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dead awake. Insomnio

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Locomotion Films, Nu Image Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the movie, when Desmond is talking to UDO, the door of the red Mercedes is closed. When the shot expands to a wide view for a brief moment before scene change, the door is open.

User Reviews

Slick but superficial neo-noir B flick.

"Dead Awake" tells of a corporate marketing visionary/maven and insomniac (Baldwin) who sleeps with his eyes open at work by day and hangs out in a diner with some peculiar blue-collar types by night and gets entangled in murder and other mischief. The film sneers at traditional character development while painting an unlikely portrait of human nature on it's untra-hip neo-noir canvass. Somewhat interesting because of it's sharp creative edge, this nominal whodunit is less believable than entertaining. Okay for flick junkies who care more about the "sizzle" than the "steak".