By Jon Donnis
Woken centres on a stripped back idea that quickly turns unsettling. A woman wakes up on a remote island with no memory of who she is or how she got there. She is heavily pregnant, surrounded by people who claim to know her, and expected to accept their version of events. From that starting point, the film builds a tense and uneasy situation rather than rushing into spectacle.
Erin Kellyman takes the lead as Anna, a role that leans heavily on confusion and instinct. Around her are figures who seem helpful on the surface, including her husband, played by Ivanno Jeremiah, and neighbours brought to life by Maxine Peake and Corrado Invernizzi. They attempt to fill in the gaps, but the more they explain, the less stable things feel. That tension sits at the centre of the film’s premise.
The wider situation is only revealed gradually. A pandemic has pushed humanity close to collapse, and the island setting suggests a form of separation from whatever remains beyond it. Even so, the real focus appears to stay close to Anna’s experience. Her uncertainty drives the story, especially as she begins to question whether the people around her are telling the truth.
Director Alan Friel keeps things contained, at least on paper. The setting, the limited group of characters, and the fractured perspective all point towards a film built on suspicion rather than scale. The presence of actors like Peter McDonald and Oscar Coleman adds to that sense of a closed circle, where everyone has a role but not necessarily a clear motive.
Set for a UK digital release on 25 May through 101 Films, Woken reads as a story that leans into paranoia and uncertainty. It keeps its ideas close, focusing on one character trying to piece together her reality while everything around her feels slightly off. That alone gives it a quiet tension that could carry through if handled carefully.
Apple TV - https://apple.co/3QELsZJ
