Before I Go to Sleep (2014)

Since it's listed as a horror and it has a very interesting cast --Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, and Mark Strong--, I picked Before I Go to Sleep as one of the movies to watch this October (I'm doing 31 days of horror).

The film follows Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman), a forty-year-old housewife who wakes up every day with a stranger in her bed, her husband Ben (Colin Firth), who explains to her that she had a car accident ten years earlier which resulted in a brain damage that erases her memory when she goes to sleep. One day, when Ben leaves for work, she receives a phone call from Dr. Mike Nasch (Mark Strong), a neurologist who is apparently treating her, who reminds her to record her thoughts and daily progress on a camera and instructs her to not tell her husband. Soon, she starts discovering the truth.

If that sounds familiar to you, it's not because you've already seen Before I Go to Sleep but because you've probably seen the 'main character suffering from short-term memory loss who investigates and can't trust anyone' film by antonomasia, Christopher Nolan's brilliant Memento. Unfortunately, it's not only the familiarity that makes the plot uncompelling but the way it unfolds and develops --I'm not sure who I should blame for this though, the filmmakers or the writer of the novel upon which the film is based. Anyway, it slowly takes you to the twist, a twist you've been waiting for and expecting since the beginning and it's therefore predictable, but, like I said, the story is told in such a way that it doesn't come as a shock or surprise.

The flat, unexciting plot isn't the only flaw in the script as the characters are just as terrible. They have no sort of development and the characterization is poor, to say the least. On the bright side, there are very few characters.

Despite the poor script, the three main actors do a good job. Nicole Kidman, whose botox injections made her perfect for the role as she looks dead inside, gives a convincing performance as Christine. Some facial expressions would have been appreciated though. Colin Firth isn't given much to do but he does a good job as the loving husband. Mark Strong easily steals the show with a very ambiguous performance as the doctor who is treating Christine.

Clarius Entertainment, 20th Century Fox

Unfortunately, getting emotional and believable performances from the actors is the only accomplishment of director and screenwriter Rowan JoffĂ©. He completely failed at setting the right tone and atmosphere --the film indeed lacks tension and mystery. It doesn't work as a psychological thriller and certainly doesn't as a horror. It could work as a drama but, again, the flat, emotionless approach doesn't allow it.

10 comments :

  1. I LOVE Memento so I was definitely going to watch this at some point but I think your review pretty much tells me why I haven't actually bothered to yet!

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    1. I too love Memento and I would have probably skipped this if I knew the plot was so similar.

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  2. I've never heard of this but that's too bad it's uneventful with a cast like that. Great review!

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  3. I love the 2 male leads but Nicole has to stop with the botox otherwise some guy working at JC Penny may pick her up and bring her back to the store thinking he missed a mannequin. I love Memento and need to see it again but, despite your review, I want to see this film even though I had a feeling it was not up to snuff.

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    1. lol it's true though. I think she stopped now. At least that's what I hope since a few years back I read that she regretted botox as it didn't allow her to move her face and she needs that for her job.

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  4. I think this film is on TV though I'm not sure if I want to see it despite the cast.

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    1. Only if you really love at least one of them.

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  5. I wanted to see this when it came out. Then it came and went and I forgot about it. I guess it was no great loss.

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