it plays the endearing brotherly bond for much-needed warmth[but is] a film that doesn’t quite have enough drive or rage for the American opioid situation many find themselves in

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 4, 2024

Stay Awake is a searing depiction of the damage that addiction and co-dependency can do to families. This drama is impactful in showing an addicted mother trying to hold on to her two sons, as one of them wants to break free of their dysfunctional cycle.

| Nov 7, 2023

Stay Awake is a refreshing perspective on how it can affect people’s lives and how every decision family makes comes with a cost, whether or not they wish to leave them behind or stay.

| Sep 4, 2023

It’s a self-assured work, deriving most of its strength from its well-written characters and the actors who inhabit them.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 1, 2023

A sharply observed and quietly moving indie drama that’s well worth seeking out, thanks to a thoughtful script and compelling performances from its three leads.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 31, 2023

With its simple framing and naturalistic performances, Stay Awake recalls the American independent films of the Eighties.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 6, 2023

There are a number of flubs and missteps along the way, but there’s just enough character moments and pathos to help you stay awake.

| Jul 5, 2023

“Stay Awake” is a grounded drama that delicately tells a story that’s all too common in our country. It may not be the most earth-shattering film, but the choices Sisley makes are purposefully and smarted, understated.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 7, 2023

We are left wondering about the emotional truth that exists... Sisley shows us plenty, but ultimately very little is done to portray the emotional collateral of addiction in a way that couldn’t be conveyed in an anti-drug PSA.

| Jun 5, 2023

This earnest, sweet and introspective small-town drama moves the opioid spotlight onto the caretakers of those who suffer from addiction.

| May 31, 2023

Stay Awake, offers a compassionate but clear-eyed take on a sadly all-too-familiar family dilemma.

| May 26, 2023

For the most part, "Stay Awake" stays low-key and believable, particularly when the actors move through real-world locations while living their lives.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 19, 2023

There are a number of flubs and missteps along the way, but there’s just enough character moments and pathos to help you stay awake.

| May 19, 2023

Oleff, Argus and Metz succeed in depicting both the frustrations and the compassion associated with caring for relatives who continuously harm themselves.

| May 18, 2023

An honest, wise and genuinely heartfelt slice-of-life with just the right balance of humor and heartbreak.

| May 18, 2023

A serious film on the dangers of drug addiction.

| Original Score: B- | May 17, 2023

Jamie Sisley’s film looks at its serious subject matter through a maudlin lens.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | May 13, 2023

Yet with strong performances and that nuance, Stay Awake surprises as a capable indie drama.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 16, 2023

Competently made with affecting flashes, Stay Awake tends to be somewhat predictable and passive. As such, it does not break new ground. The filmmakers, however, should be given credit for tackling a social ill of enormous dimensions.

| Original Score: 2/4 | May 22, 2022

Not as much of a complete downer as that may sound, Stay Awake is both tough and compassionate, a unsensationalized look at the difficulties of recovery...

| May 2, 2022