The Awakening

Authors: Gabby
Location: NY

"The Awakening”

Produced by Harvey Weinstein
Written & Directed by Jane Campion
Music by Michael Nyman
Original Music – Peter Gabriel

Principal Cast:

Reese Witherspoon - Edna Pontellier
Liam Neeson - Léonce Pontellier
Ryan Gosling - Robert Lebrun
Hayden Christensen - Alcée Arobin
Anjelica Huston - Mademoiselle Reisz
Kathy Baker - Madame Lebrun
Hilary Swank - Adèle Ratignolle
Jeff Bridges - Doctor Mandelet

Tagline: "There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness"

October 20th 2007

Synopsis: The Awakening takes place in the late 1800’s. It begins at a crisis point in twenty-eight year-old Edna Pontellier's life. Edna is a passionate and artistic woman who finds few acceptable outlets for her desires in her role as wife and mother of two sons living in conventional Creole society. Unlike the married women around her, whose sensuality seems to flow naturally into maternity, Edna finds herself wanting her own emotional and sexual identity. During one summer while her husband is out of town, her frustrations find an outlet in an affair with a younger man. Energized and filled with a desire to define her own life, she sends her children to the country and removes herself to a small house of her own: Her triumph is short-lived, however, destroyed by a society that has no place for a self-determined, unattached woman. Her story is a tragedy and one of many clarion calls in its day to examine the institution of marriage and woman's opportunities in an oppressive world.


What the press would say:

The Awakening is a continuation of Australian director Jane Campion's exploration of the unique ways women express soul. In the best performance of her career, Reese Witherspoon conveys Edna's multidimensional journey into passion. Robert, played to perfection by Ryan Gosling is the first to recognize her passion. Liam Neeson plays Léonce, who is frightened of his wife's intensity and put off by her efforts to have her own way. He is very convincing as the absent minded husband. Reese’s best scene of the film occurs during the ending with a dramatic incident at sea; Edna walks into the ocean and chooses death over her unsatisfying life. The Awakening is the most sense-luscious film to reach the screen in years. It shows how soul is revealed through the fusion of body, desire, and feeling. The evocative quality of Jane Campion’s screenplay is one of the strengths of The Awakening. This film boasts one of the most incredible casts ever assembled on screen, all wanting the chance to work with acclaimed director Jane Campion. Award nominations look bright in the future. The safest nominees at this point are.

Best Picture – Harvey Weinstein
Best Director – Jane Campion
Best Actress – Reese Witherspoon
Best Supporting Actor – Ryan Gosling
Best Supporting Actor – Liam Neeson
Best Adapted Screenplay – Jane Campion
Best Original Score – Michael Nyman
Best Original Song – Peter Gabriel
Best Costume Design
Best Cinematography
Best Art / Set Direction