Before I Go To Sleep
Writers: Rowen Joffe (screenplay), and S.J. Watson (novel).
Cast: Nicole Kidman (Christine), Colin Firth (Mike), Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), Ben Crompton (Warehouse Caretaker), Anne-Marie Duff (Claire), Adam Levy (Ben), Gabriel Strong (Boy on Bike), Flynn MacArthur (Boy in Dream), and Dean-Charles Chapman (Adam).
The film starts off with Christine (Nicole Kidman) waking up in a strange room, her thoughts, and warning of a strange man lying beside her, almost gives an uncomfortable feeling. Yet, something tells her to walk to the washroom where so many pictures are placed on the wall. She notices two happy people, one is her in a wedding dress, the other is the unknown man that is sleeping on the bed. Christine looks at every moment placed on the wall, until the sleeping stranger tells her of their marriage, who he is, and some of the pictures that seemed different to her, but answered as he continues to explain.
The man sounds a mile away but, his voice resonates as he continues to tell her of each picture that he placed on the wall in their washroom. He tells her that she has been in a terrible accident, and that she has suffered chronic memory loss. The man tells her his name, Ben, her husband and that he will help her alone this terrible nightmare. Ben continues and tells her that each day will be as if we had first met, her loss of memory is so strong that when she sleeps, all will be forgotten when she awakens. The days of the same explanations have been long and hard for Ben, he tells her that his patients and love is his drive.
When Ben her husband leaves for work, a man who calls each morning at the same time, he calls himself Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), he tells her of a shoe box hidden in the closet, hidden away from her husband, a camera that she has been recording, per instruction from the Doctor Nasch (Mark Strong) who is helping her regain her memories pro-Bono. Every morning is the same, but each recording is different, an episode of a series, the concept is the same but a different episode. The last recording she had made she found out of her best friend Claire (Anne-Marie Duff), and something else, Ben had withheld their son, Adam (Dean-Charles Chapman). The recording she was in, Christine seemed scared, nervous, but managed to explain, described what Ben her husband had done. The trust level falls, with every recording, message of her life
Rant: The film has strong characters, gripped with a strong story. That being said, Before i sleep is not your typical thriller, this film makes you think. The Chronic memory loss pretty much did it for me, yes, i know it was based off of a novel, which according to my wife is pretty close to the book. Shame on me! for not reading the book, and watching the film first.
Not trying to give anything away but the cast gives away a huge spoiler, hey! just trying to keep it real. Don't watch the cast especially if you're a IMBD fan. Most people probably will never even look at the credits, but it's something a had to point out. For you fans out there, lets see if you can find the spoiler in the cast on IMBD or any internet based info on the film. Email me at knght_hnry@yahoo.com, let me know what you think.
The Chronic memory loss is a big deal, the scene when Colin firth hits Nicole Kidman's character pisses me off, it really got me pretty angry. I believe a man should never hit a women, and in a video, TV news, or even on film, all those things make me angry. You remember the Julia Roberts film, "Sleeping with the enemy" that film got me so hot! that guy was not a jerk! but something else, and i won't even go there if i ever want to keep my core demographic. Anyway, this film reminded me of the 1991 film. The core of this film is all the same, a man controlling a situation to fit his own desires, which makes for a good film, if your into that sorta stuff.
Nicole Kidman is Christine a women who has been in a terrible accident and develops chronic memory loss; the only people she has in her life to help her is her best friend Claire played by Anne-Marie Duff and Dr. Nasch (Mark Strong), these two are the only hope she has, pretty sad experience, that derailed any hope of her every remembering anything, because only two people people and everything she had was so limited, so yes hope was very thin. The book she had written all her experiences in a journal, meanwhile in the film version it was a camera. Really don't understand why? film-makers change those things, but i guess it was the look, and feel. Anyway, try and remember film and novels will almost always differ, it's just the way it is, so many things are taken out on film because you have to produce so much in a limited time frame. Unless, you want a thriller to be a "Lord Of the Rings."
Here is some thrillers that i recommend, Transcendence, Sleeping with the enemy, The Judge all good dramas that i think, in my opinion good. Remember, movies are only good if you the viewer enjoy what you're watching, if the experience bothers you because of the content, than the film-makers did there job. Understand that everyone in the film industry has many views, directions, explanations on what will be good. The viewer is the one that makes or breaks the film, it depends if you're willing to pay to see that film, or wait for it to stream. Thrillers can be tricky, taste is debatable, either you like it or not.
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