First and foremost, you will not like a movie if you wish to think very little when watching the content of any movie. This is a movie about the journey inwards of a woman. A woman whose life is falling apart. The character representation of the mental states of the protagonists is awesome. The visualization capability of the director is commendable. She takes a persons life and analyzes and visualizes it in her own way. The representation can be easily related to the audience. I wouldn't say that its a great movie but it surely is a movie if you are in a thinking mood .My rating - 6/10.

Waking Madison (2010)The movie world is filled with talents coming from nowhere and making a splash. Director Katherine Brooks is not one of them. Her resume of MTV compilations and other professional jobs doesn't even quite prepare you for the badly worked clichés, uninspired acting, and amateurish writing here.The reason it comes to mind here (and not all the other mediocre movies out there) is that Brooks is both director and writer here, as if she was really sure of herself. The idea isn't bad in itself. A young woman (played by Sarah Roemer) faces her multiple personality disorders in a period of high drama crisis. And the movie manifests this for the viewer in an unexpected way. When this "trick" first becomes clear (and I'll give no hints here) it's fascinating, the one minute of actual fascination you can expect. When the trick gets played a second time it's pure sensationalism, or just lack of inspiration.Another problem is Elizabeth Shue's performance as the leading psychologist, which at first I blamed on her. She's bland and unconvincing, even after the final twist when you might reevaluate what her purpose was all along. Now I lay some blame at the director's feet. There are some nice grungy set designs, the music plays well into the mood, the photography is decent, the layering of video within the larger photography is interesting, and so on. I mean, it has the bones of a decent movie. It reminds you that writing comes first (the idea, and the dialog) and then acting and directing (hand in hand) are critical. Who is this Sarah Roemer? A really promising actress with a terrible agent. The movies she has been in are rotten rotten rotten. So it's hard to see the energy she keeps just under the surface throughout. Likewise for two other secondary young women who play with intensity worthy of a spooky movie about mental disturbances: Imogen Poots (who was in the interesting "Solitary Man" with Michael Douglas) and Taryn Manning (who seems to have Roemer's same agent, or the same kind of agent).So? What to do? Skip this one. There are many better low budget or low quality psycho flicks with better edges and surprises.

This is a compelling film, lead by a compelling actress, Sarah Roemer(of 'Wristcutters'). As the title & trailer suggest, Madison is trying to 'wake herself' from her mental state, and the film takes us on that journey with her. Filmmaker Katherine Brooks has an solid cast and does a phenomenal job with Roemer, Elisabeth Shue, Imogene Poots(of '28 Weeks Later' and the newer 'Fright Night'), Erin Kelly (from another Brooks triumph, 'Loving Anabelle'), Taryn Manning and Frances Conroy (As Madison's Mother)& Will Patton(as Madison's Father). The New Orleans location adds a touch of mystery as well. I can't remember when I've enjoyed a film like this more, and I recommend it, highly. I still cannot say enough about Sarah Roemer's performance. If she doesn't break out into A-List stardom within the next 5 years, I'd be very surprised. 10 out of 10 stars.

**SPOILERS** Love this movie!!! Katherine Brooks is a very talented writer. She tackles difficult subjects, but this is what needs to come to light. There is no other movie ever created that deals with this subject in a such a way, that others can understand how Madison feels. Katherine has such a talent, and blessing in how amazing she has portrayed Madison. The acting is actually pretty good. Elizabeth Shue does a great job a playing the psychiatrist to the girls in the psych ward. This is a very entertaining movie with a killer twist at the end that will make you want to re-watch the movie to see if you can catch the clues. The way this movie is shot and written actually makes you almost understand what its like to have multiple personalities in the way that it never quite settles in to a comfortable rhythm, which works very well for this type of movie.Very powerful and you will want to watch it more than once to fully experience the many levels of depth this movie contains. A big thank you to Katherine Brooks for this wonderful movie!!!