Director: Rowan Joffe
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Anne-Marie Duff
Running Time: 92 mins
Certificate: 15
Based upon the novel by S.J. Watson, BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP verges on an obvious and classic slow-burning psychological thriller but redeems itself in nature by adding an emotional edge that rounds off an intense build-up of mysterious set pieces.
Directed by Rowan Joffe, the man who has written screenplays recently for BRIGHTON ROCK, 28 WEEKS LATER and THE AMERICAN, this is his second outing into the directorial world and gives us another insight into his stylistics with production backing from Ridley Scott. Some thrillers of this nature are likely to falter into the world of cliché but Joffe manages to just hold off the expected as the story unravels to an explosively violent conclusion where all the questions are answered.
In BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, Nicole Kidman plays Christine, a woman who every day wakes up but remembers nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past. Upon waking, her life is reconstructed daily by her husband Ben (Colin Firth) and she’s taught that she was in a car accident and loses her memory each night. At first, this seems plausible as the house is set-up to help her remember parts of her life with photographs, post-it notes and plans but when she takes a call from Dr Nasch (Mark Strong) regarding medical help she’s been secretly receiving, there’s only more questions and plot devices start to kick into action.
One of the most rewarding returns from the movie is how difficult it is to know who to trust, and who’s actually being honest. Although you’ve got a feeling that even Kidman’s character might not be exactly who she says she is, you’re easily torn between whether that’s your own doubts or something that will factually turn up later. The same goes both for Firth and Strong’s character which only goes to show the wealth of talent on display here and both of them are on song as always. As the mysteries reveal themselves, we even get to meet Claire, played by the ever-excellent Anne-Marie Duff, who seems to be a friend to Christine but weirdly represents another agenda and a possible connection with the eventual finale – but will you find out what it is? Well, you’ll have to watch to find out.
BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP is truly an ensemble piece with a devastatingly powerful close that thankfully doesn’t feel unnecessary, even if the twisted truths are not what you expected. Nothing here is quite what it seems and for that, it’s actually refreshingly fascinating in the vein of BIRTHDAY GIRL and just goes to prove that Kidman loves a psychological turn and she’s bloody good once again.
[usr=4] BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP is available on Blu-ray and DVD now, pick it up here.
