Waking Up: Mystery That Disorients Its Audience as Much as Its Protagonist

Matt Gorman’s 10-minute mystery with a dusting of sci-fi Waking Up follows a woman’s quest to discover what happens to her after she wakes up in a strange location with no memory. The two-hander plot finds its other character weaving in and out of Sarah’s life, helping her decrypt the clues scattered about, easily found, as if the answer is waiting for her. 

The simple story is given an equally simple treatment through episodic plot progression that sees Sarah (Aurora Grabill) at different points in her recovery. It begins with her waking up in the woods, while, unbeknownst to her, a low planet hangs ominously in the sky. An eerily lighthearted score accompanies. Her friend (Chris Salvi), nameless but almost too friendly, turns up at key points in the story, often holding the evidence himself. 

The narrative is divided into six scenes, each a little too detached from each other but for the common thread of the unfolding mystery of Sarah’s amnesia holding them together. Salvi’s character interestingly goes so hard towards innocuousness that it is hard not to find him dodgy, especially as he manages to drive the narrative forward despite having neither a name nor a discernible personality. Sarah shares this latter trait, though hers is at least partially explained away by the disorientation of having no memories. Thus led by her friend, she does little else but follow. 

The open ending is a culmination of Sarah’s friend’s efforts. Waking Up leaves its audience bewildered and waiting as the film cuts off right at the moment when Sarah might finally unravel the mystery. The answers are now up to them to arrive at.

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