Awake

Pity-puncturing odd-couple comedy inspired by Ingmar Bergman

Cantankerous Anna just wants to be left alone. The last thing she needs is a visit from Doreen, a cheery Jehovah’s Witness determined to outstay her welcome. Unfortunately, as Anna is ushering Doreen to the bus stop she locks herself out, inadvertently saddling herself with the proselytiser for the day.

Inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s 1963 Winter Light (available in BFI Player Subscription), Michael Achtman’s gently acerbic two-hander stars blind actors Margo Cargill and Alex Bulmer. Achtman deftly counterbalances sombreness with wry humour, offering up rounded characters who are defined more by their attitudes towards life than by any restrictive notion of disability.