Released on March 15, with a heavy load of twists and turns and directed by Marcus Stokes, “State of Consciousness” follows a young man named Stephen – played by actor Emile Hirsch, who is placed into a mental institution after being accused of murder. Being gifted a car from a stranger, no pay whatsoever, is what really gets it all going. Police show up, and find a body bag in the back of this strangers car. Not even twenty minutes into the movie, I could already tell how much I was going to love it.
The movie is almost a fever dream, because it can be so hard to follow along. Stephen seems to “forget” his entire 18-month-long visit at this institution, and the movie continues to show this lapse in memory – he slowly tries to regain control of what is his reality. You can see his sanity slowly deteriorate while it goes on, as he gets more violent and aggressive with the other characters in the movie.
He seems to live multiple lives, going through many different memories and dreams as he tries to recall what really happened to him during that time he was away. Violent actions towards himself or others cause these memories to resurface, but can also take him back or toward the future. It really does not make sense unless you watch the movie all the way through – which you should.
These episodes seem to get more psychotic and quick, as they only last a couple of seconds before he is transported somewhere new, or just to a different part of the same flashback/memory. The doctors claim it is a “pleasant dream state” that Stephen is put in, even as he is dreaming about these terrible things happening to him and the people he loves. Barely halfway through the movie, and it is already so hard to keep up.
It is difficult to tell what is real and what is a memory, and you really can never be sure the more you watch. From forgetting friends to being harassed by bikers, his reality is a mess, but there is more to it than he thinks. But it really is a well-made movie, especially for those who are true lovers of psychological thrillers.
Even if he denied it at the beginning, Stephens mental deterioration also led to him committing heinous crimes he never would have seen himself doing. With a concerned partner, Alicia, a lot of his goals center around trying to keep her with him. Especially later in the movie, he goes on a crazy hunt for her. As he begins to realize these truths, that the people he thought he loved weren’t really who they said they would be, is really eye opening for Stephen.
Watching this movie definitely had me confused and wondering what was reality and what was not, but I think that is what makes it good. It has unique elements to it, and it is saddening how low the ratings are on it. I love this movie, and would definitely recommend it.
