Before I Go to Sleep (2014) Reviews

• Interesting idea but ultimately mediocre

  Red-Barracuda2014-09-07

  The premise of Before I Go to Sleep is quite a good one. A woman wakes up each day with no memory beyond her early twenties; soon she begins to realise that some dark secrets are being hidden from her. It's sort of in similar territory to Christopher Nolan's early neo-noir Memento (2000), which was also a mystery/thriller about a character with a short-term memory loss condition. Like that one, here one of the interesting angles is that the central character has no idea if their friends really are friends or actually enemies. It's true that several aspects of the storyline require you to stretch your belief somewhat; however, many thrillers are similar in this respect, so this wasn't such a deal-breaker for me. The problem I essentially had is that while the idea may be pretty intriguing, ultimately the pay-off is somewhat mediocre and conventional. Piece by piece the puzzle is slowly unravelled but it doesn't end up presenting us with a picture that is very inspired or interesting and you sort of ask yourself 'is that it?'

• Well-Made Psychological Thriller

  philipmagnier2014-09-09

  I'd actually read the book before seeing this film so it was a question to ask ourselves: can we be bothered? In the event, it was worth it and I found that I was submerged in the film during the showing. It's the sort of film that doesn't get made very much now in these days of big budgets, explosions, and cartoonish characterisations. But I'm glad it appears on the big rather than the small screen of TV because they brought in really good actors in the three leads. Particularly in the case of Nicole Kidman, she downplays her looks to come across as an ordinary woman approaching middle age, a brave choice for an actress. The big surprise to me was Colin Firth who is way outside his normal range here and completely credible in the role. Mark Strong also is good in portraying a psychiatrist with empathy. The film is very sombre but this is appropriate for the subject matter and really the director and cinematographer deserve a lot of credit for catching the uneasy tone of the book. The reason I don't give it a rating higher than 7 is the unnecessary slasher scenes which could I think could have been done without so much blood and violence. Modern filmmakers should pay more attention to the work of someone like Hitchcock who suggested the gore rather than shoved your face in it. Still a mature film well worth seeing.

• Adrenaline Rush

  tyse12014-09-05

  "Tonight as I sleep, my mind will erase everything I know today"; The simple yet satisfying plot-line of this movie as spelled out by our lead protagonist in the opening scene is enough to draw anyone into this wonderful thrill ride of a film. Such a story-line sees the aforementioned central character (played by Nicole Kidman) slowly put back together the extremely complex puzzle that is her memory of the last 14 years, lost after an 'accident' involving a mystery perpetrator. The plot, although clearly ludicrous when heard, somehow works remarkably well when experienced on screen. This is primarily down to the breakneck pace of the movie, never allowing audience members to get bored or have enough time to ponder the numerous plot holes noticed after the final credits. Not that this matters of course, as BIGTS is a picture to be enjoyed in the moment and at surface level. Another of the film's major assets is the brilliant performances from the central three characters. Kidman is back on form, exasperating any memory of a certain picture that occurred sometime in the previous 14 years; Firth is excellent also as Ben, with Strong matching him in equal measures on levels of sinister and downright frightening unpredictability. Not only is such fantastic acting a joy to watch, it is another factor in helping the plot-line to be accepted without question by audiences who might think twice if only they weren't having so much fun. As entertaining as the picture is, this isn't groundbreaking original stuff here, nor is it something that is terribly deep in content. However if you want to spend 90 odd minutes utilizing only the first third of your seat, then you're in for a treat.

• Plot holes big enough to steer a cruise liner through.

  postmortem-books2014-09-10

  If you are going to see this movie do NOT read this review - there are plot spoilers - come back afterwards and see if I was right. OK - so it was a reasonable enough thriller with a couple of suspenseful moments but a book or a film that has plot holes as big as the ones perpetrated here tend to make you gnash your teeth in irritation. Here are some of the worst: Christine had the "accident" when she was 26 (she's now 40). Where were her parents, aunts, brothers or sisters for the intervening 14 years? Would not one of them be visiting her on a regular basis at the nursing home? Ben puts her into a nursing home because he can't cope any longer and eventually divorces her but who is paying the nursing home bills? When she is taken out from the nursing home by the other "Ben" wouldn't the real Ben have wondered why he wasn't being asked to pay any longer? The wedding album and the photographs. The real Ben would have kept all those and they wouldn't have been available for the other Ben to doctor them. The doctor: he'd have to had Ben's consent to "treat" his wife. How did Christine make contact with him? How would she know her own phone number? Or address? The hotel where the first assault was made. Blood on the floor and in the corridor. A woman's body covered in blood found in a nearby lorry park. Er...didn't the police make a connection? The hotel staff might well have done. I could go on for many more paragraphs but you get my drift. You may want to wait until this one is at £3 on Tesco shelves.

• Memories - like the corners of your mind...

  bob-the-movie-man2014-09-15

  "Before I Go To Sleep" is an effective psychological thriller. Nicole Kidman plays Christine Lucas, someone who if she saw "50 First Dates" wouldn't remember it the morning afterwards! She wakes as a forty-something 'housewife' in her suburban home every morning with Ben (Colin Firth) in bed next to her. However, she can remember little to nothing of the last twenty years. She is being covertly helped on a pro-bono basis (with a trace of pro-boner thrown in) by UCL neuro-scientist Dr Nash (Mark Strong). Nash reveals that she ended up in this state after being severely beaten up and left for dead near a Heathrow hotel. He persuades her to maintain a video diary of the days' events and recollections, but he has to remind her where she's hidden the camera via phone every morning. But Christine has a traumatic and terrifying past, remembered (and then immediately forgotten) in dreams, but which only very slowly starts to piece itself together during the waking hours. One character emerging from the mental mist is a long-time college friend Claire (James McAvoy's wife Anne-Marie Duff) who disappeared from her life under mysterious circumstances but is now 'found' again. Will Christine piece together the jigsaw? What was she doing in the Heathrow hotel? Who beat her up and why? Where does Claire fit in? Can Mark Strong play anything other than a 'baddie'? So many questions, so little memory. Produced by Ridley Scott and with Rowan Joffe ("28 Weeks Later") writing the screenplay and directing, the film is pleasingly set in and around a non-touristy London with some fine scenic shots - you can't really beat the view from the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and this nicely features in one scene. Nicole Kidman has a lot of acting to do in this role and she does it very well. Firth and Strong - two of my favourite actors - are both excellent and keep you guessing throughout. But of all of the acting roles I found Anne-Marie Duff particularly effective in the short-and-sweet role of Claire: a very powerful and touching performance. It is tempting to describe any psycho-thriller as 'Hitchcockian', but there are moments where this film can certainly be tagged in this way. This is helped by a Bernard Herrmann-like score by Ed Shearmur, moody photography by Ben Davis and crisp editing by Melanie Oliver. I enjoyed this film, but even with all of these positives it still felt more like a B-movie than an A-movie for reasons I can't quite sum up. In addition there were a few niggling plot points and, in my opinion, a slightly weak epilogue ending. Also note that, in a world where far too many women still face physical violence, there are flashback scenes in this film that some may find distressing, earning it its '15' UK certificate. (Please see my other film reviews at bob-the-movie-man.com and sign up to "Follow the Fad". Thanks.)