Friday, October 03, 2014

'Before I go to sleep' (film)

Nicole Kidman as the amnesiac Christine Lucas
Here's what The Guardian had to say:
"Kidman is Christine, a middle-aged woman who wakes every morning with no memory of her life from her mid-20s onwards. Recognising neither the man in her bed nor her own face in the mirror, Christine must begin every day with a catch-up lesson delivered in tired but endlessly patient tones by Ben (Colin Firth): he is her husband; she was in an accident; she has amnesia; tonight she will fall asleep and forget everything – again.

"On the wall of their bathroom, photographs tell the story of a life lost; of romance, marriage, holidays – mementoes of an unremembered past. But while Ben is out at work, a phone call from the mysterious Dr Nasch (Mark Strong) alerts Christine to the existence of a camera on which she has been keeping a secret video diary. According to Nasch, Christine was the victim of a brutal attack, the details of which her husband is hiding. Whom should she trust – her oddly evasive spouse or the not-so-good doctor?"
Clare liked it a lot while observing that Nicole Kidman continues to do what she does best - play the victim. I thought the film was rather girly and heavy-handed in its emotional manipulation.

It's traditional to say that the film is not a patch on the book; and in this case also correct.