I heard about this film some time before its release, both because of the cast and some of the plot, I was very much looking forward to watching it, from director (Brighton Rock) and writer (28 Weeks Later) Rowan Joffe. Basically Christine Lucas (Nicole Kidman) is an amnesiac, following a traumatic accident in her past several years ago, now she wakes every day with no memory of the events the day before, she is only reminded of her current life with notes left on the wall, including of her marriage to husband Ben Lucas (Colin Firth). Also every morning she receives a phone call from Dr. Nash (Mark Strong) who has been meeting her for several weeks to try and repair her memory, and reminds her that she has been recording herself on a video camera to remind herself of previous events, including gained knowledge. Due to Christine's condition she is unable to work and simply stays at home, while her manly husband Ben goes to work, but in secret Dr. Nash takes her out and about to try and recall what happened to her to cause her memory loss, she asks some questions to Ben, including about how they met and their marriage, they were originally separated. Dr. Nash tells Christine that she is the only one who knows what happened to her, she is shocked to discover she was attacked and left for dead, covered in blood in a work yard near a hotel outside the airport, and then she finds out she has a son that Ben apparently hid from her, only flashes of the past come to her during her investigation. Christine does not know whether to trust her manly husband or the honest doctor, she can only rely on the videos she leaves for herself on the camera, knowing that she will wake up the next day with no recollection of what she has learnt. But things go dark when Christine delves into her past and recalls a friendship with Claire (Anne-Marie Duff), she calls her and they arrange to meet, Claire confesses to having an affair with Ben and why they lost contact, but it is later on that Claire questions whether the man she is truly is Ben, asking for his description. One night, following these revelations, Ben takes her to the hotel she recalls having flashes of the night she has her life radically changed, it turns out he is the man she had an affair with, the marriage is a massive lie, he beat her nearly to death and caused her amnesia. In the end Christine escapes danger and recuperates in hospital, Dr. Nash tells her the man she was attacked by is imprisoned, and in the end Christine is finally reunited with her real Husband (Adam Levy) and her long lost son Adam (Dean- Charles Chapman). Also starring Jing Lusi as Nurse Kate and Rosie MacPherson as Emily. Kidman putting on an English accent does well playing the vulnerable amnesiac, Firth is an interesting choice as the protective "husband" who has a dark side, and Strong is good as the doctor trying to help the woman retrace her steps and get to the truth. From reviews I read before seeing it, it sounded like a cross between elements of Memento and a non-funny 50 First Dates, and that is pretty much what it was, you definitely get into the action as it twists and turns with its well paced chills, it is a terrific psychological mystery thriller. Very good!
Review of Before I Go to Sleep
