Before I go to Sleep, 2014.
Directed by Rowan Joffe.
Starring Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Anne-Marie Duff.
SYNOPSIS:
14 years’ after suffering a head injury, a 40 year old woman wakes each day with no memory of her husband or the previous day’s events. With only a few select people to trust, she begins to question everything around her.
Opening with a close up shot of Nicole Kidman’s bloodshot blue eyes, the audience is immediately immersed into the confusion of Christine Lucas’ (Nicole Kidman) world. Based on the international bestseller by S.J. Watson, Before I Go to Sleep follows amnesiac Christine as she wakes each morning and has to be told by her husband Ben (Colin Firth) that she is in her mid-40s and that she suffers from a condition which causes her to lose her memory overnight.
Before I Go to Sleep presents an interesting premise for a film and Rowan Joffe succeeds in filling the audience with confusion over what is real, what’s lies and who Christine should trust. We learn that neuropsychologist Dr Nash (Mark Strong) has been seeing Christine for a few weeks and encouraging her to keep a video diary to organise her thought and store up information. From this plot device we are able to learn about the lies and horrible truth of Christine’s life.
Nicole Kidman breathes life into Christine and is adept at playing the vulnerable English waif as we’ve seen many times before. Her performance isn’t groundbreaking or anything we haven’t seen before but she is able to carry the film well and we feel her confusion with every twist and turn of her story. Colin Firth also provides good support as her long suffering husband Ben who appears to be doing his best with the situation.
Unfortunately from this both Mark Strong and Anne-Marie Duff are given little to do than act as plot devices to move the film forward. Both are talented actors but they’re given little to work with in the script and there is minimal character development. Having not read the book I’m unsure if this has been edited out for running time, but at a brisk pace of 92 minutes it does seem that a little more effort in this area would have been good. Especially with former friend Claire (Duff) who acts as an integral part of the plot development and eventual twist but is given hardly any material to work with.
Going into Before I Go to Sleep I knew there would be a twist and this will be a non-spoiler review. However, the twist is actually quite surprising and one that I wasn’t entirely expecting. It adds pace to the final act and brings the film to an interesting conclusion.
Whilst the components for a great thriller are all there, Before I Go to Sleep never convinces as a thriller that will be remembered, despite its inventive story. We have good solid performances, a twist that’s bubbling under the surface throughout and actors with the talent to take on meatier material. The problem with the film is its pacing. It begins well and I enjoyed the overlays of Christine’s videos to explain her condition and the time passing. But it wasn’t interesting and it felt as if the momentum that had been building in the first 30 minutes then lagged until the hour mark. The final act is refreshing and worth watching for the performances alone, but this isn’t a thriller that many will remember or watch again.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Helen Murdoch
Originally published September 12, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
