Psycho's Movie Reviews #297: Before I Go To Sleep (2014)

Before I Go to Sleep is a 2014 mystery psychological thriller film written and directed by Rowan Joffé and based on the 2011 novel Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Sweden, the film stars Nicole Kidman, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, and Anne-Marie Duff.

Plot

Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) wakes up next to a man she does not know. The man (Colin Firth) explains that he is her husband, Ben, and that she suffered severe brain damage from a car accident ten years earlier, resulting in her having no memory of her life from her early twenties onwards.

Christine receives treatment from Mike Nasch (Mark Strong), a neuropsychologist, who gives her a camera to record her thoughts and progress each day. He also calls her every morning to remind her to watch the video in the camera, but instructs her to keep the camera hidden from Ben. Nasch reveals that her memory loss occurred after she was attacked and left for dead near an airport hotel; they both surmise that Ben tells Christine it was due to a car accident to avoid upsetting her.

Over the course of her treatment, Christine faintly remembers a red-haired woman named Claire (Anne-Marie Duff). Ben tells her that Claire was a friend who couldn't handle Christine's condition and ended contact with her. Later, Christine recalls that she has a son, Adam. She angrily confronts Ben over hiding their child, but he says Adam died of meningitis when he was eight. Christine also remembers the name Mike and believes it may be the name of her attacker, which she tells Nasch during an appointment. He hugs her to comfort her and almost kisses her, but she pulls back and then notices on his name badge that his first name is Mike. Christine flees. Nasch later tells Christine he is not able to treat her anymore because he has developed feelings for her.

Christine learns that, several years after her attack, Ben had placed her in an assisted care facility and divorced her, then had a change of heart and brought her home to live with him. She also discovers that Claire had been trying to contact her at the care facility. Christine obtains Claire's phone number and meets her. Claire reveals that Christine had embarked on an affair prior to her attack, while Ben and Claire had a one-time sexual encounter following the attack, due to their shared grief at Christine's memory loss.

Claire gives Christine a letter written to her by Ben; he asked Claire to give it to Christine should she ever be well enough to read it. In the letter, Ben tells Christine that he loves her, but that he had to leave her for Adam’s sake, as he had begun to be afraid of her. Christine shows Ben the videos she has made on the digital camera. However, Ben angrily accuses Christine of having an affair with Nasch, strikes her and storms out. Later, Claire tells Christine that Ben claims not to have seen Christine for several years. Christine describes the Ben she is living with and they realise he is not Ben. As she attempts to escape the house, "Ben" renders her unconscious.

The next morning, Christine again awakens with no memory but she finds the camera and sees her entry saying she loves "Ben" and wants to make a life with him. "Ben" calls Christine and tells her to pack for a trip that night. He then visits Nasch and tells him to stay away from Christine. That night, "Ben" takes her to a hotel close to where she had been found after the attack. He reveals that he is Mike, the man she had an affair with. Christine then remembers that Mike had wanted Christine to reveal their affair to Ben, but Christine refused and their argument culminated in Mike viciously attacking Christine, resulting in her amnesia. Mike deletes the videos on her camera and states that he is no longer interested in playing the part of Ben. He tells Christine that they shall live together or no one shall live. Another struggle ensues, but this time Christine manages to get away. She sets off the hotel fire alarm then flees, and is seen telling her story on the camera while waiting in an ambulance.

Christine wakes up in a hospital bed and is visited by Nasch, this time as a friend and not as her therapist. He assures her the man responsible for her condition has been arrested. He tells Christine that she has visitors and that he hopes the visit will provide the breakthrough they have been hoping for. The real Ben (Adam Levy) appears with Adam (Dean-Charles Chapman) who is very much still alive. Christine’s memories begin to return when she sees her son.

Production

On 1 May 2011, Ridley Scott bought the film rights of the novel Before I Go to Sleep written by S. J. Watson and hired Rowan Joffé to direct and write the script. In February 2012 Nicole Kidman was in talks to join the film; later in May she joined to star as Christine. On 31 October 2012 Mark Strong also joined the cast of the film. According to The Hollywood Reporter on 16 November 2012, Kidman said she wanted Colin Firth to work with her again. They had already worked together in a drama The Railway Man. On 6 February 2013, it was confirmed that Firth has joined the cast to lead with Kidman.

The film was shot in London and at Twickenham Studios.

Release/Reception/Box Office

The film was released in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2014 and released in the United States on 31 October 2014.

The film was met with generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 37% based on 120 reviews, with an average rating of 5.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "If it doesn't completely avoid thriller clichés, Before I Go to Sleep still offers a stylish, fast-paced, and well-acted diversion." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 41 out of 100, based on reviews from 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

It has been unfavourably compared with Memento, a film released 14 years earlier. "What the brilliant Memento once used as a way to explore a truly inventive way of storytelling is here just a gimmick. It's shallow, it's silly, it's pat. It's... forgettable," wrote the New Jersey Star-Ledger. "Christopher Nolan's 2000 brain-twister Memento starred Guy Pearce as a man with a similar malady. The earlier film rigorously stuck within the logical confines of its premise. Joffé's is filled with far too many contradictions and implausible situations," wrote The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Kidman's performance has been positively received. Writing for Daily Star, critic Andy Lea said in a positive review that "Kidman puts in a chilling performance as the frail but determined Christine." David Edwards of Daily Mirror stated, "Leading lady Nicole Kidman hasn't been this good in ages" finishing with "Kidman is on top form as the nervy, spiky woman walking a psychological tightrope."

Budget $22 million

Box office $15.1 million

My Review

My reason for watching this film was simply because the premise sounded intriguing. It has a decent cast though I'm not a huge fan of the big names attached to the film. This would have made a very clever episode of a TV Series. As a feature length film, the pacing feels off at times and very slow. However, if you're like me you'll have to stay with it just to find out where they are going and you'll hope against hope that they are going somewhere. Rest assured they are and its actually a very clever little twisty thriller mystery that works. It even tends to leave you thinking about it afterwards and isn't as forgettable as you might initially think. I might even say that in a few days I might score this higher because of how it grows on you. There is nothing particularly outstanding about it and its very melodramatic with a lot of overacting scenes on the part of Kidman but it tries its best to be clever and usually works. The biggest twist to the mystery worked very well and it was actually mid-film when I suddenly found myself more hooked on what was happening when they throw a real curve ball at you. The whole memory loss aspect seems used wrong somehow but it is the driving force behind the film.

Nicole Kidman is very hit and miss. I used to really like her but I think she has managed to pick good movies from time to time. She is always so soft spoken and doe-eyed. She is so melodramatic in this and really plays up emotions but it almost borders cheesy from time to time. I feel like an actress with a better handle on portraying emotions could have done better. Colin Firth who is also very hit and miss in my book is decent as her husband struggling to help her remember each and every day {My mum loves him though, which is the main reason as to why we watched this film}. I think his role more than anyone's could have really been an effective and well played role and Firth doesn't seem to give it his all. He's okay at it though. The chemistry between he and Kidman which is vital to this story is decent but not amazing. However, they have some good scenes and both of them have enough charisma on screen to make you at least pay attention. Mark Strong is another guy who can be good but he's very underused in this film {and in most others I have watched with him in, I like him his a good actor} and seems almost like he was given no direction to his character leaving him empty and wandering around aimlessly. Essentially overall the cast is okay. Given how smart the script could have been, with a better director and cast this could have been way more effective.

No surprise at all that Rowan Joffe only has a few small credits to his name as director and writer. He fits squarely into my rule about writers not directing their own material and about new directors lacking proper vision to make something really effective. There is a lot of potential to this story but the film's pace is off, the actors seem desperate to find direction but aren't given the proper guidance and that's unfortunate. Still for a simple little thriller you'll at least be entertained. The only thing that bothers me about this sort of movie is you see such great potential and the finished project doesn't live up to that. I love a good thriller and this was definitely entertaining and its very hard to throw me curve balls in a movie and this one did so definitely check it out but keep your expectations reasonable at best. 7/10